


Kindergarten Bully

by misCOWculation



Series: Those Bygone Years [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Also Koe no Katachi and Yotsuba&!, Also Lookism as well, Also inspired by Dragon Ball and Naruto, And Kiss Him Not Me, And Orange Marmalade, And Toradora!, Basically Webtoon inspired lol, Bullying, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Music, Christmas Party, Christmas Shopping, Christmas Tree, Complete, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Feels, Female Homosexuality, Friendship, Girl Power, Heartwarming, Heterosexuality, Homophobia, Hugs, I draw my inspiration from a lot of things hence the many references I've implemented into the story, Inspired by I Love Yoo, Inspired by Music, Kisses, Listen to ZONE's "Secret Base" for the epilogue (chapter 55) PLEASE, Lowkey angst?, Male Homosexuality, Manga & Anime, Marriage Proposal, Martial Arts, Minor Character Death, Multi, Music, Plot, Plot Driven, Puppies, Sad with a Happy Ending, Slow Romance, Violins, Written like an anime, lots of references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-18 11:12:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 58
Words: 204,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13098894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misCOWculation/pseuds/misCOWculation
Summary: One way or another, the Makoshima children have been dogged by misfortune ever since the beginning. Different people cope in different ways, and the Makoshima siblings are no exception. One expressed his emotions through violence and found himself the victim of the same violence he gave to others. Another attempts to seal her emotion deep within herself to attain the necessary skills to survive and protect. And, for most of her life, the music of worry was her only familiar for the third.You can't keep running away from the past.Because, in the end, it'll catch up to you, push you down, and, if gruesome enough, eventually kill you.On the flip side, we have Oikawa Tooru. Perfect family, perfect friends, and at the peak of his high school career. But not even the Prince of Aobajosai is without his flaws.Who says you can't inadvertently become an honorary member of your kindergarten bully's family while trying to get petty revenge on the same kindergarten bully? Oikawa Tooru certainly can, after all.Some of the LINE text chat is cut off for some reason I can't fix, so go to ff.net to read the same COMPLETE chat. Im jungkookies on ff.net.





	1. Starting Line

_"Ne, Makoshima-san!"_

_Two figures turned around, making the boy who had called out backpedal._

_"Sorry, I meant the boy Makoshima."_

_The girl turned to her brother, scrutinising his flustered expression for an instant before walking ahead. "Okay. I'll head down to the convenience store and we can meet back at the old cherry blossom tree. Is that okay, Tadashi-nii-san?"_

_He nodded in confirmation._

_"See you soon then."_

_As soon as she was gone, her raven locks swaying with the wind, the boy's face twisted into one of pure contempt as he regarded Tadashi._

_"You piece of shit. How dare you show your face here again."_

* * *

"Iwa-chan!"

Iwaizumi Hajime sighed before turning around to face his ever exasperating best friend. "What do you want, Shittykawa? It's way too early in the morning to deal with your crap."

Oikawa Tooru pouted at him but allowed the insult to slide. "Didn't you hear, Iwa-chan? There's supposed to be a new student transferring today."

"Oh?" Personally, Iwaizumi could care less. It wasn't uncommon for students to transfer to Aobajosai, the school being one of the most prestigious in the Miyagi Prefecture. "And...?"

"We should use is opportunity to snag you a girlfriend! Emiko-chan told me that the transfer is super cute. Maybe she goes for the broody ones?"

Scowling, Iwaizumi halfheartedly cuffed Oikawa on the head. "Don't be stupid. How do you even know that the new student is a girl? What if they happen to be male? Ever consider that, Bakawa?"

"Mean, Iwa-chan!" He huffed. "And for your information, Emiko-chan told me herself that the transfer is a cute third year girl and we all know that her information is always right." The brunet tapped his chin in slight contemplation. "I wonder if she's a tsun-tsun? If she is, you'd definitely get along well~"

As the pair made their way to their morning classes, two new faces entered the school from the opposite side. It was mostly the attention from their new female peers that they drew, though more glances were spared toward the boy than the girl.

This was likely so as, at first glance, she wasn't much to look at. She was by no means ugly, but she blended naturally in the crowd with her pristine uniform and her charcoal black hair. From the back, she would look like almost any other person in the Aobajosai female population. If everyone lived in a shoujo manga, she would undoubtedly be marked as a background character.

But the boy, however, certainly  _was_ something to look at. After all, not many people had pale blonde hair that was nearly white in Japan with a handsome face to boot. Though the physical appeal was lost to some when they saw his nervous, flustered expression, a bold contrast to the girl's unreadable mask.

"Naoko-chan..." The boy hunched forward to hide his face as well as lower his eye level to match hers. "Everyone is staring..."

"Just ignore it, Tadashi-nii-san. Your novelty will wear off next week." Even as she said this, she frowned slightly. "Perhaps you should have dyed your hair black so it matches mine. Then you wouldn't garner so much attention."

"Wow... so short," one student whispered to another, not so subtly pointing at Naoko. "She's pretty cute too. If only she were taller."

"Have you seen the boy?" A female student nudged her friend. "I want to hug him soo bad!"

"Idiots," Naoko murmured under her breath. "Don't pay any attention to them, nii-san."

They stopped at the staircase which led to the third floor, where all the third year classrooms were.

Tadashi stared up at the vast stairwell, balking.

A comforting hand landed on his shoulder and he relaxed, having come to recognise his sister's reassuring touches. He shifted his head to face her serious face.

"You'll be fine," Naoko told him, her grip on his shoulder firm. "Now go up there's before you're late." Her expression softened. "I'm sorry I can't join you. I should have behaved better at our old school. Maybe then Aobajosai could let me skip a grade so we could be together, nii-san."

"It's okay," Tadashi mumbled. "I'll... be fine."

Naoko hugged him, squeezing him tightly as she did. "Good luck. If anyone talks to you, just answer politely. No need to make so much conversation."

As she watched her brother disappear up to the third floor, Naoko leaned against the wall and sighed through her nose. Already, she could tell that his was going to be a long year. Perhaps she should have chosen to go to Karasuno High instead. That country bumpkin high school seemed more docile than Aobajosai.

* * *

Oikawa yawned, slumping over his desk.  _So bored... When is the student going to come? After all the hype, I want to see her._ Unfortunately, no one in his circle of close friends were in his class, which meant he had to entertain himself.

The bell had rang five minutes ago and the teacher was hastily sorting through his notes and trying to figure out how to start the lesson. The class had already said their good mornings (headed by the class representative) and were waiting for the lesson to begin.

Oikawa, however, was waiting to see a cute, hopefully tsundere third year female walk through the doors. And he wasn't the only one. Many of his male classmates, judging from their goofy expressions, seemed to be having the same thoughts as Oikawa or at least something along those lines.

The difference between them and the volleyball Captain was that Oikawa would never let his true feelings show, opting instead to put on the mask that everyone loved. In actuality, he had not been that excited when he had been told by Emiko, the gossipy president of the Student Council, that a "cute girl" was transferring today. He had figured that she would be just like the rest of them and go after him solely based on his looks and boyish charm. But all the attention this mysterious girl had received was really driving him toward the edge of his curiosity.

"Oh! Ishida just texted me saying that she's super short!"

"Ahh! Cute! I love short, petite girls!"

Oikawa spared the two male speakers a quick glance of disbelief, as much surprise as he was willing to show.  _They sound like old perverts. Don't they have a filter? If I said that, Iwa-chan would spike a volleyball in my face._

"There was a guy walking with her," one girl piped up. "Maybe he's her boyfriend!"

"Could be... but they could also be brother and sister, Yumi-chan."

"No way," said a third girl. "Yuzuru told me that he has blonde hair and she has black hair. They can't be related like that."

"Boyfriend or not," the first girl said, stealing a glance at Oikawa, who had now sat up and was leaning against the window. "She'd better stay away from Oikawa."

The pleading look she gave him disgusted Oikawa to some extent, but he smiled an award winning smile at her anyway, knowing that she needed some of his honeyed words to remedy her worries. "No need to worry, Anzu-chan~ My heart doesn't belong to anyone... yet," he added slyly.

As Oikawa expected, Anzu blushed and nodded furiously. "Y-yes, Oikawa-kun!"

Ah, false hope. Something that Oikawa was used to administering to his loyal fangirls though it was not something he enjoyed. As for why he did it, he wasn't truly sure himself, though Iwaizumi liked to say that it was because he needed the girls around to stroke his ego.

Then the doors slid open and everyone fell silent, their eyes landing on an unfamiliar face.

An unfamiliar  _male_ face.

After the shock wore off, the whispers immediately began to circulate.

"Ehh?! That doesn't look like any cute girl to me!"

"Is he in the wrong place?"

"I don't like the look of him... hmph... he's asking to be beat up."

On the flip side, the girls' whispers were much kinder albeit forward.

"Ooh! He's so cute. I wonder if he's single?"

"He's got that virgin air about him. I'd like to be the one to take it..."

"Eh? Ami-chan? You're already writing a confession letter?"

At his seat by the window, Oikawa resisted the urge to groan and slam his head onto the desk. All this hype for nothing?! He was wrong apparently; Emiko wasn't always right. And now he had to deal with the horrible anticlimax.  _What a letdown..._

At the front of the classroom, the teacher was urging the new kid to introduce himself. After lots of stuttering, the poor boy managed to spit out the most basic introduction.

"M-my name i-is Tadashi Makoshima. Please take care of me!" He bowed at the waist, allowing Oikawa's sharp eyes to see the beads of nervous sweat that had accumulated on the back of his neck.

When Tadashi made no move to lift his head, the teacher cleared his throat. "You can get up now, Makoshima-san. Please take a seat in front of Oikawa." He gestured to the male in question, who flashed Tadashi one of his girl-charming grins.

"Yes, sensei!"

Moving robotically, he took his seat, hastily setting down his bag before getting his books out and setting them on his desk.

"Yoohoo~" Oikawa prodded Tadashi in the back with his pencil as the teacher turned to write notes on the chalkboard. "Dashi-chan?"

"H-huh?" Tadashi nearly jumped out of his skin. "Dashi-chan...? Me?"

"Yes, you. I was wondering if you could lend me your sharpener? Mine seems to have broken."

"Oh, s-sure. No problem."

As Tadashi dug through his pencil case, Oikawa wondered what could possibly be making this tall, handsome creature (in the eyes of the ladies) nervous. Usually, guy with his looks tended to be egotistical and walk with a confident swagger. Heck, Oikawa himself was living, breathing proof of that trope.

When the teacher turned around again, the blonde boy handed Oikawa his sharpener before getting it back a few seconds later.

"Thanks, Dashi-chan. I'm Oikawa Tooru by the way."

"Nuh... Nice to meet you."

Oikawa smiled but, like many of his other smiles, it was not completely genuine. There was something about Tadashi that he didn't like. But, outwardly, he merely said, "I'm sure we'll get along fine."

* * *

"Too easy," Naoko scoffed to herself as she swivelled the keys to the rooftop around her index finger. "Honestly, you'd think they have better security..."

She had managed to swipe the keys straight from the secretary's office when said secretary had her back turned to receive a paper from her printer.

Naoko expertly weaved her way through the crowd of students going to lunch, tucking the keys in her uniform pocket. Unfortunately, she had not yet gotten the opportunity to visit her brother in his classroom, not wanting to cause any trouble for him. He never left during the ten minute breaks he was given, though many of his classmates likely ducked down to another classroom to visit their friends.

Tadashi was always like that.

But now it was lunchtime, and she was going to drag Tadashi out to the rooftop to eat lunch together whether he liked it or not. He still needed to report his entire day so far to her.

Luckily, all the classroom doors were open, so she could easily see the people inside. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted a familiar head of blonde hair.

That was surrounded by big, hulking third years.

They were the only ones in there, the other students having gone somewhere else for lunch. The teacher, not required to stay in the classrooms during lunch, was missing in action too.

_Crap,_ she swore silently. She clenched her fist, her small frame shaking. As she entered the classroom, she made sure to click her shoes against the floor to announce her presence.

"Oya?" one of the third years chuckled, eyeing her hungrily. "What have we here?"

"Step away from him," Naoko ordered, ignoring his predatory gaze. Though she was easily more than a head shorter than them, she glanced up at them fearlessly.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"N-Naachan - "

"Quiet, you!"

And then the bully backhanded Tadashi, sending him sprawling against his desk. The poor boy never saw it coming.

What  _they_  hadn't seen coming, however, was Naoko's fist and foot flying into their faces.

"Th'fuck?!"

Tadashi curled up into a ball as, with scared eyes, he watched his younger sister set herself upon the three bullies.

Cursing, one of the third years swung at the girl clumsily, only to be flipped backwards onto the ground.

Finally, Naoko's adrenaline high lowered and she regarded her brother's tormentors icily. "Get out."

They scrambled to their feet, exiting the classroom in great haste.

"I hate them," Naoko declared, helping her brother up. "I want to kill them for what they did..."

"Don't," Tadashi said softly, wincing when she gripped his hand, her fingers unintentionally digging into a forming bruise. "It's not worth it."

"Hah? What are you talking about? They hurt you! If they are dead, they'll never hurt you again."

In Naoko's mind, this was sound logic.  _The dead cannot harm the living._ But, as much as she wanted them dead, she knew she wouldn't be able to follow through with murder. "Tell me if they touch you again."

"Okay."

Naoko's gaze hardened. "I'm serious, nii-san. If you don't tell me, how can I take care of the problem?"

Tadashi nodded. "I know."

As he hung his head, Naoko was tugged on his sleeve. "Come on," she urged, her tone gentler. "Let's go to the rooftop and eat. I stole the keys."

"Eeh?! Again? This is the third school that we've been to that you stole something..."

Naoko didn't bother defending herself. Instead, she smiled and tugged on his sleeve, guiding him out of the classroom.

* * *

It had been hard not to intervene for Oikawa. Especially when poor Tadashi was so totally outnumbered and outclassed. Iwaizumi would be flaming mad if he ever found out about Oikawa's lack of action.

Oikawa was never a fan of bullying. But halfway through their first period, Oikawa had realised just who Tadashi was.

A man that wasn't worth saving in Oikawa's opinion. Not when, Oikawa remembered how Tadashi had wronged him.

As perfect as Aobajosai's female population deemed him to be, the Prince of Aobajosai was not without his flaws.

Pettiness just happened to be one of his many flaws, his strange rivalry with Tobio Kageyama, a genius setter, an example of his pettiness.

That same flaw came into play here.

_Tadashi Makoshima. Nothing more than a bully._

A kindergarten bully to be exact.

And boy did Oikawa hate the guy.

But then Tadashi had been ganged up on...

And Oikawa had just left him there. He had pretended to be occupied on his phone not too far away from the scene, leaning against the wall of the outside corridor.

Then she had arrived and had taken out those gorillas like they were nothing.

_Curious and curiouser... Who is she? I've never seen her before._

Oikawa made up his mind: One, to get revenge, and two, to find out more about the little fighter girl.

Though he didn't know it now, Oikawa may come to regret ever tangling with the Makoshima family.


	2. Maids and Monsters

_Who says you need to be a certain age to officially grow up? Naoko-nee grew up when she was my age. So why won't she let me grow up with her? Then we can share the burdens we carry. The burdens_ she _carries.  
\- Sumire Makoshima_

* * *

_"Stop. You're not doing it right."_

_Naoko resisted the urge to wince at her tutor's sharp voice. She moulded her face into an icy mask and stoically regarded her violin teacher._

_"That note you drew just then was too long and mourning. Do it again. Make sure that it's perfect this time."_

_"Yes, sensei."_

_The girl did not smile when she completed the piece, even when her teacher begrudgingly praised her music. Instead, she only nodded and listened out for what her tutor had to say next._

_It was mid-afternoon when violin lessons were over and she was left alone in the house. She was packing her violin back into its case when the door opened and a dirty figure stepped in, splattered with mud._

_Naoko's arm shook as she closed the case, never letting her eyes wander from the person who had just entered. "Ta... Tadashi, what happened to you?"_

_"... Nothing, Naachan." He smiled despite the bruises littering his face. Naoko's eyes followed him until he disappeared upstairs._

_The girl slumped against the wall, tears forming in her eyes. She did not allow them to fall down her cheeks. "Nii-san... who did this to you?"_

* * *

Naoko closed the door behind her and relished in the cold air hitting her face. She caught up with Tadashi, who was a few strides shy of the rooftop railing.

"Do you know their names, nii-san?" Naoko demanded, her brows furrowing. "The boys who hit you?"

"... No."

"Damn." Growling softly under her breath, she took out her bento and chopsticks. "I... I made you your favorite lunch today. Open it up."

Glancing down at his own bento for a moment, Tadashi squared his shoulders and opened up his lunch. Succulent pork curry and rice glistened under the sun. "Oh."

"Tadashi, what is it?" Naoko hugged her knees. "It... It's not just those boys bothering you, is it? Nii-san, you have to tell me what's wrong. How can I help you if you don't?"

Tadashi did not reply.

"Tadashi - "

"I saw him," her brother blurted, effectively cutting her off. "I saw Oikawa Tooru."

_Who?_ thought Naoko, searching for a face to match the name.  _Now that I think about it, I've heard some of the girls in my class mention him from time to time..._ "Did Oikawa say something to you to make you feel bad?" From what she gathered, she doubted that he could be very pleasant.

"No. I-I don't know if he remembers me, but... I remember him. Kind of. He was in kindergarten with me. But you know... I don't remember much from childhood... but I think I remember him."

"Yeah? And?"

"I... I think I stole his toy spaceship once. Then he cried."

"That... That's it?" When Tadashi nodded, the corners of Naoko's mouth twitched upward. "Silly Tadashi. No need to get worked up over something so small. You were children. I doubt that he even remembers it."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense. Thanks, Naachan."

"Anytime, nii-san."

* * *

"Kyaa! Oikawa! Nice serve!"

"Eek, so strong!"

"It's okay, Oikawa-san!"

"Don't mind, don't mind!"

Iwaizumi gave Oikawa a withering glance. "Screwing up that jump serve is one thing, but what happened to our 'no fangirls at practice' agreement?"

"I don't tell them to come," defended Oikawa, raising his hands in surrender. "I made sure to lock the doors to the gym as well."

"They're Oikawa's rabid fangirls," Makki added from the side. "Not even locked doors can keep them out."

As practice continued, Iwaizumi grew increasingly frustrated at Oikawa's lack of attention. Missing that jump serve had already been an alarm bell for the ace, but Oikawa  _never_ botched a set.

"Oikawa."

The Captain turned to his ace. "Hmm? Did you need something, Iwa-chan?"

"Yeah; just where is your head today, Trashykawa? Your plays are shit."

"Sorry, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said, though he didn't sound at all sorry. "But something happened today that I just can't forget."

Iwaizumi blinked, as much surprise as he would show. "We can talk about this later. Just try to focus more, Bakawa."

"Ah! Iwa-chan, no need to be so rude!"

Fortunately, their brief exchange managed to get Oikawa out of his funk to some extent. At the end of the practice, when the rest of the team had gone for ramen and the girls had been escorted out by irritable coaches, Iwaizumi lingered in the gym with Oikawa, locking up the store rooms.

"Well?" Iwaizumi elbowed Oikawa. "What's on your mind?"

"Do you remember the new transfer student from this morning?"

"Hah? Is that what this is about? Don't tell me she's distracting enough for you to perform so badly today."

"That's the thing, Iwa-chan, she never showed up. I don't know where Emiko's information screwed up but the transfer student was no cute girl."

"What are you implying, Shittykawa? That you're too shallow to appreciate her - "

"Eh?! No, of course not, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa said hurriedly, not wanting a volleyball spiked into his face. "The transfer student wasn't a girl at all.  _His_ name is Tadashi Makoshima."

"Makoshima..." Iwaizumi echoed, his brows furrowing. "Sounds familiar."

At that, Oikawa couldn't help himself. He just had to snort. "It would. You'd never believe who he is. Especially since he acts all shy and bashful."

"Hn? Did he do something to you?"

"Two words, Iwa-chan: White Monster."

"White Monster?" Then; "Wow, shit. Him?"

"Yes! It has to be! He looks exactly the same, just taller and lankier!"

Iwaizumi nodded slowly. "He was a real dick in elementary. But he got scared away easily when I was around. Tch, coward."

"I'm the one who has to deal with him since he's in my class," Oikawa whined.

"He didn't try anything, right?"

"No. It was weird. I realised who he was halfway through first period and stopped speaking to him after that. And then he has the nerve to look confused the rest of the day."

Iwaizumi said something in reply, but Oikawa was only half paying attention.  _He got a taste of his own medicine today. Serves him right._ Sure, he had felt guilty when he couldn't bring himself to intervene. But Makoshima deserved it, right? It was his punishment for what he had done in the past.

What goes around comes around.

"Oi! Shittykawa, are you listening to me?"

"Ouch! What was that for, Iwa-chan!"

"Pay attention when people are talking to you!"

* * *

Putting on her jacket, Naoko placed the keys to their house in her shirt pocket and headed out quietly.

Upstairs, Tadashi was quietly doing his homework. Naoko had finished all of hers within the first half an hour of arriving home. Studying the second year curriculum fervently for the past few months certainly did come in handy when she couldn't afford to spend her afternoons and evenings stuck at home doing homework.

There were better, more productive things that needed to be done.

"Nee-chan?"

Naoko stiffened and turned to face the music.

Or rather, a younger girl standing at four foot eleven dressed in a sailor style uniform, her black hair tickling her collarbones.

"Sumire."

"Nee-chan, where are you going? You don't work on Mondays."

"I do now," Naoko replied. "I requested an extra evening shift."

Sumire shuffled her feet. "Oh. Um, nee-chan!" She paused, as if she didn't know what to say. "You don't have to work again. You already work five times a week. It can't be healthy."

Naoko waved her off. "I'm fine. Thank you for concern, Sumire, but I'm really fine." She checked her watch. There was still time to kill. "How is violin practice going?"

"Good," Sumire answered, starting to smile. But that smile quickly faded away. "It's so expensive though. Nee-chan, I don't want to continue my lessons if it's too expensive for us to afford."

Sighing, Naoko put down her bag and drew her younger sister into a hug. "It's not. Sumire, I'm working hard just so you can enjoy yourself. It's like my job, you know? If I don't work hard and get money then you won't be able to have fun. And our parents left us their life savings when they passed. It's how we bought this nice house, remember?"

"I'm twelve, not five," Sumire said ruefully. "... Are you  _sure_ you're okay, Naoko-nee?"

"I'm sixteen, not five," Naoko teased, ruffling her sister's hair. "And I'm well aware how old you are, Sumire-chan. You're my little sister, how could I not know something like your age? Anyway, I have to get to work now, so I'll see you later."

When she was gone, Sumire flopped on the couch. "Naoko-nee," she addressed the air. "If you really know so much about me as you claim... why don't you remember that it's my birthday today? I'm thirteen... not twelve. I was hoping you'd correct me.

"Naoko-nee. I'm thirteen today."

* * *

Girls her age normally got their money by either working in some sort of customer service or undertaking compensated dating. In Naoko's case, it was most definitely the former. Waitresses were usually more respectable members of society, after all. What she wasn't fond of, however, was the fact that the establishment she worked in was your stereotypical  _maid cafe._

"Ah!" Naoko's overworked manager came up to her. "Thank goodness you're here, Naachan! Mika called in sick today and we are so understaffed!"

"Calm down, Umeko-san," Naoko soothed, thinking that her manager looked ready to go into cardiac arrest at any given moment. "I'm here now. Let me change and then I'll start right away."

"Thank you! You're a lifesaver, Naachan. Oh, I recognize him! Welcome, Yamada-sama!"

As Umeko went off to serve the customer a coffee, Naoko quickly got dressed in the staffroom and came back out in all her maid glory. Her cheeks flushed red when she realized just how short the skirt was. She wasn't one to get embarrassed so easily but  _dammit she had pride too._

"So cute," Umeko said approvingly. "I'm sorry for this, Naachan. I know that you normally wear the butler outfit on your other shifts but Mika took it home to wash when she spilled coffee on it."

"That's okay. I only have a two hour shift today anyway."

"That's the spirit! Knock 'em dead, Naachan!"

_Hooray,_ Naoko thought sardonically, her eyelids at half-mast.

Just then, two high schoolers walked into the cafe, talking to each other. Naoko allowed herself to stare at them for a few seconds before she was summoned by a customer looking for a coffee refill.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Iwa-chan, I'm going to expose his true nature by the end of the year."

Iwaizumi sighed and rubbed his temples. "And I'm telling you why this is such a bad idea. We have more important things to focus on than getting some petty revenge on Makoshima. Look, I get that he's an asshole, but seriously. What about volleyball and exams?"

"I can fit those in too," Oikawa insisted, choosing a table. "But I want that guy to regret ever crossing me. He acts like a nice guy but I know what he's really like." His eyes widened. "Iwa-chan."

"What?"

"It's her!" Oikawa nodded his head toward where a ravenette was standing at the coffee machine, fulfilling her customer's orders. "The one that beat up all the third years."

"Really?" Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at her emotionless face. At first glance, she really didn't look like the type of girl to study martial arts. She was short, thin and looked like she could be snapped in two just by getting high-fived. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. I'm gonna call her over and talk to her."

"Wait, Oikawa - "

"Yoohoo~ Maid-chan!" Oikawa shamelessly called, waving at her.

"Bakawa!"

The girl's gaze shifted over to them and Iwaizumi almost shivered at how blank her storm-grey eyes were. It gave her irises an almost oyster shell look. Stiffly, she took the coffee she had made and handed it to the customer she was serving, bowing after she did so.

"Ooh, she's coming. Not even the little fighter girl can resist my charms, Iwa-chan."

"Maybe she's just doing her job," Iwaizumi deadpanned. "Ever considered that?"

Before Oikawa could reply, the girl was already standing there. She bowed to them, something that made Oikawa smirk.

"Good evening, masters," she said dully. "What can I do for you tonight?"

Judging by how suggestive the phrase was, both of the boys had no doubt that it was something that all employees were required to rehearse. But the tone in which she said it in scraped away any trace of sexual connotations.

"A milk bread roll and some warm water please," Oikawa said, flicking through the menu. "What about you, Iwa-chan?"

"Just a bottle of water, thanks."

"Right away, masters."

When she retreated back to the counter to serve up their orders, Oikawa looked like as if he was about to explode from happiness. "Iwa-chan! She's adorable! Like a cat. Why haven't I ever seen her at school before?"

"Lower your voice. I don't think she'd appreciate you comparing her to an animal. And don't call me Iwa-chan in front of strangers. It's weird."

"Eh? But cats are cute. Who doesn't love cats?"

"That's not the point. Cats are still animals. She's a  _human_ like us."

"A  _cute_ human that reminds me of a cat."

"Yeah, a cat that can easily claw your face off from what you've described."

"Mean, Iwa-chan!"

It took every last drop of self-control for Iwaizumi to  _not_ spike the volleyball that he set on the floor into Oikawa's face. Frankly, he didn't feel like being kicked out of a public establishment tonight.

* * *

"A cat?" Naoko murmured as she heated up the milk bread roll the brown haired male had requested. "Really? Tch."

"Why the long face, Naachan?" Umeko asked, sidling up next to her. "Is it about the maid outfit? Because I am soo sorry."

Naoko shook her head, placing the milk bread onto a clean plate with a pair of tongs. "Like I said, it's fine, Umeko-san." She smiled wryly. "I thought managers were supposed to be mean and domineering."

Umeko flinched, nearly falling backwards. "Eh?! What's that supposed to mean, Naachan? Do you  _want_ me to be mean and domineering?"

"Of course not. But you don't act like a professional sometimes." She paused. "Sorry. That was very rude of me. Please don't fire me."  _Fuuck. I went too far. Don't get mad, Umeko._

"Hah, it's okay, Naachan!" Umeko's gaze softened. "I'm 'unprofessional', as you imply, because I want to be your friend. Naoko... forgive me, but I think you're the type that likes to say that you're okay when you're not. It's alright to ask for help, you know."

"I'll keep that in mind."  _Sorry, Umeko, but I can't afford any relationships outside of family right now. I have other things to worry about first and foremost. Tadashi and Sumire need me; I can't afford to be distracted by something like... like friends._ She shook her head as she carried the milk bread to where the high school students were sitting.  _Umeko doesn't know anything. I am okay._

"Thank you, maid-chan," the brunet said, smiling at her. Had she been any other girl, she was certain she would have swooned or, at least, blushed at that charming grin of his. But she was Naoko Makoshima and she would not turned into a giggling school girl by something as trivial as a disarming smile.

In fact, the plastic quality of it pissed her off. And boy, that was an achievement in itself. Naoko considered herself to be someone slow to anger, the exceptions being Tadashi and Sumire being pushed around in any way. She knew she could get fired for this, but she narrowed her eyes at the brunet. "You're welcome,  _master._ " The way she emphasized 'master' was not at all friendly. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I go fetch your water? I hear you like cats."

The brunet blinked in what could best be described as disbelief and his friend snorted. "She's got you there."

"Iwa-chan! You're supposed to be on my side."

"Your side? What is this, elementary school?"

"You've obviously got something to say to me," Naoko interrupted. "So say what you want to say and leave me in peace. Please," she added as an afterthought, reminding herself to try and be as professional as possible in the face of this annoying teenager.

"Fine," the brunet said, shifting in his seat and looking her in the eye. Observing her. Analyzing her. "Does Tadashi Makoshima ring a bell to you?"

Naoko stiffened.  _Did he see?_

The boy grinned, obviously pleased by the reaction he got from her. "I'm waiting, maid-chan~"

"I'm not obliged to answer that," Naoko said coldly. "Do not interfere with my personal affairs."

Without waiting for a reply, she walked away. By the time she had returned with the brunet's warm water and his friend's bottle of water they seemed to have forgotten about what had happened mere moments ago.

But Naoko knew that this wasn't the case. She would definitely be seeing more of them soon. She could only hope that the brunet boy wouldn't stir too much trouble for her or Tadashi.

_Especially_ Tadashi.

God help anyone who dared mess with her brother.

* * *

**LINE: VOLLEYBALL TRASH**

[Hanamaki]: the hell? who changed the group chat name?

[Iwaizumi]: best bet is shittykawa

[Matsukawa] agreed^

[Oikawa]: guilty :P

[Iwaizumi]: figures

[Iwaizumi]: only you could come up with such a stupid name

[Oikawa]: MEAN IWA-CHAN!

[Yahaba]: why did i even agree to this, all we do is spam each other

[Oikawa]: r00d don't talk to your senpai that way

[Matsukawa]: Can you guys all stfu? I'm trying to do homework here

[Matsukawa]: let's all disregard that last comment because hw is boring af

[Matsukawa]: did anyone hear the violin music coming from the roof this morning? people are saying it's a ghost

[Oikawa]: ooh, spoopy

[Yahaba]: Yeah, I heard. whoever that was, it was really good

[Oikawa]: too bad you can't give a ghost a compliment

[Iwaizumi]: Bakawa

[Iwaizumi]: ghosts don't exist

[Hanamaki]: what the fuck even is this anymore

[Oikawa]: BOO! 


	3. Ghosts

**_A/N: Warning for themes of homophobia and attempted sexual assault at the beginning of the story. Also warning for Karasuno dorkiness at the end as well as a girl beating up boys twice her size with a violin._ **

* * *

_He has already paid the price for his past mistakes and more. So stop punishing him. Please._

_\- Naoko Makoshima_

* * *

_Tadashi cried out in pain as one of the boys kneed him in the stomach, sending him to the ground. He tried to stand but someone stepped on his back, forcing him down._

_"Serves him right."_

_"What a freak!"_

_"Fag! My mom says your kind are called fags!"_

_The boys, all of them no more than twelve, laughed cruelly at Tadashi's predicament, making crude comments._

_"Hey, do you think he'll suck our dicks if we ask nicely?"_

_"Probably!"_

_"Hey, fag, get over here."_

_No one in the playground bothered to help Tadashi Makoshima as he was relentlessly beaten. Some watched but others chose to stay away from the scene, lest they be targeted. There was no teacher around._

_It's funny; when you don't need them around, teachers are onto you like white on rice. But when you do need them, good luck._

_"Hey, Yamamoto, take off your pants and let him suck you off."_

_"Good idea."_

_Behind a tree, Naoko Makoshima watched everything unfold with wide, tears eyes. In one hand, she held her violin, having just arrived from school band practice. Her entire frame shook as he watched the boy called Yamamoto unzip his pants._

_She was scared. She was so, so scared._

_Scared to watch her brother be defiled as he bled onto the grass._

_Naoko didn't know when she started running. But she did know that some things were worth breaking for the ones you love._

_Without any hesitation, Naoko slammed her violin, the one she loved and treasured so much, across Yamamoto's head. The boy screamed and clutched his head, the wound spurting blood._

_Then she moved on to the others, beating them with the instrument until they all fled like the cowards they were. All except for Yamamoto, who was lying unconscious on the ground._

_"Tadashi!" Naoko screamed, tending to her brother. "Tadashi!"_

_"Nuh... Naachan?"_

_Tears flowed freely down the girl's cheeks as she cradled her brother, her broken violin now lying long forgotten in the grass. She tried to say something but the words came out choked and strangled._

_"Naachan, d-don't cry..."_

_"I'll protect you, nii-san!" she blubbered, a low whine emerging from her throats as she cried. "I'll hurt them! I'll hurt them for hurting you!"_

_"Naachan, your violin - " He coughed up blood. "I-I..."_

_"Tadashi!"_

* * *

"Hey, nii-san, what club are you going to choose?"

"I don't know..."

Naoko narrowed her eyes at the list of available clubs. "All the sports clubs are out of the question. I don't like the type that hang out in those clubs. Wouldn't you agree, Tadashi-nii?"

"Ac..."

"Ac?"

"Actually, Naachan..." Tadashi lowered his gaze, his face flushed with embarrassment. "I don't mind. I... I like p-playing volleyball. Maybe I should join the volleyball club..."

"Eh?" Naoko's gaze darkened. "Tadashi, are you sure? Volleyball... is not the best idea."  _Don't you remember what happened last time, nii-san?_

"Umm, I'm sure it will be better this time. High school is where everybody becomes more mature, right? Besides, I don't plan on telling them about my... condition."

"Tadashi Makoshima,  _never_ refer to that as a condition! You do not have a disease."

"Then why do people act like I do?" Tadashi shot back, a desperate yearning for answers in his eyes. "Oikawa stopped speaking to me halfway through first period yesterday. Does he already know?"

"It's them who has a problem, not you," Naoko said firmly, crossing her arms. "If people can't accept you for her you are then that is their loss. You are worth ten of the people who try to put you down."

"Okay... so what about the volleyball club?"

Naoko pursed her lips.  _Do I really want to let him join? What if his teammates end up being backstabbers again? I... I don't know!_ "Do you really want to play volleyball?"

"Y-yes!"

"Communication is essential in volleyball. Can you... can you handle that?"

Tadashi didn't answer.

But Naoko didn't need him to. Sometimes, silence spoke louder than words.

"I'm sorry, Naachan."

"Huh? For what?"

"For thinking so foolishly."

Naoko's feet stopped moving, allowing Tadashi to pull ahead of her. Around her, people mumbled disgruntled words as they were forced to a stop, though there were a few apologising for walking into her.

Sighing through her nose, Naoko silently made her way to the classroom, not bothering to look at the rest of the club list. The choice was Tadashi's, not hers.

Wherever he went, she would follow.

* * *

"This is ridiculous."

"Shh!"

"I'm serious, Oikawa."

"Shh!"

"Dammit, stop shushing me!"

Oikawa winced in pain as Iwaizumi whacked him upside the head. "Iwa-chaaan! I just want to see the ghost."

"Are you stupid? Ghosts don't exist."

"You didn't have to come with me, you know," Oikawa commented flippantly.

"Tch. I just wanted to make sure you don't do something dumb, like fall off the roof."

"Aww, so you  _do_ care, Iwa-chan~"

Growling, Iwaizumi glared furiously at Oikawa. "Is it wrong of me to not want to see you end up as a bloody paste in the grass? Let's just go already." He grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him away, but the brunet had already latched his hand onto the doorknob of the rooftop door.

"Iwa-chan! Just let me take a little peek."

"How do you even know that the door isn't locked?"

That paused Oikawa in his tracks. Hesitantly, he gave the doorknob an experimental twist. The motion was met with resistance. "Ah."

"Told you. Now let's go already - "

A gentle footfall led both of them to stiffen, and their heads turned to where a shadow was growing upon the wall of the dim stairwell. Grumbling quietly, Iwaizumi dragged Oikawa to a small recess, pressing their bodies against the wall. "Don't make a sound," Iwaizumi breathed.

Oikawa nodded, though it was a little hard to do so when Iwaizumi's arm was resting beneath his chin. The recess was definitely not built for the convenience of two bulky volleyball players.

The footfall grew more distinct and eventually separated; there were two people not one. As they grew closer, Oikawa and Iwaizumi both tensed up in their tight-fitting hiding spot.

There was a quiet sigh from one of the approaching persons, followed by a low voice saying, "You don't have to decide now. I'm not pressuring you or anything. If I ever come off as overbearing, you must tell me, Tadashi."

"Okay."

"I'm serious."

"Okay."

"Maid-chan," Oikawa muttered, only loud enough for Iwaizumi to hear. "And Shittyshima."  _What are they doing together? Are they a couple?!_ That last thought definitely bothered him, though it wasn't because he held any sort of attachment to Maid-chan. Oikawa simply thought that even someone as passive-aggressive as Maid-chan deserved better than the White Monster. The cowardly elementary school bully.

There was the jingle of keys and the rattle of the doorknob as Maid-chan opened the door, letting Makoshima out first. The boy, being the beanpole he was, had to duck his head a little in order to pass through. Oikawa resisted the urge to snicker as he watched the White Monster knock his head on the top of the door frame anyway.

"Careful," Maid-chan warned. She reached up to try and nurse his head. "Are you okay?"

The sweet sight sickened Oikawa and he glared at them from the darkness. Makoshima didn't deserve the concern of such a cute girl.

"I'm fine," Makoshima mumbled, unable to meet her gaze. "D-don't touch..."

"Sorry."

Makoshima nodded wordlessly and disappeared outside, Maid-chan close behind. Before the door could completely shut, Oikawa stuck out his foot to halt it, leaving it ever so slightly ajar.

"What are you doing?" Iwaizumi hissed in his ear. He was visibly more relaxed now that they weren't in the immediate vicinity of Makoshima and Maid-chan.

"I want to find out more about them," Oikawa stated, the violin ghost hunt long forgotten.  _What does Maid-chan see in him?_ "You don't have to come with me, Iwa-chan."

"So you've said..."

As Iwaizumi followed him outside, Oikawa smiled. It was not the smile that he gave his fickle fangirls, Kageyama or even Takeru (when the brat asked [see:demanded] for ice cream). It was genuine; the type of smile that appeared on one's face when they had a loyal best friend by their side.

* * *

As Naoko opened up her bento and prepared to eat, she noticed that Tadashi looked as if he were constipated. She lowered her chopsticks from her mouth and raised an eyebrow at he brother. "Tadashi-nii, do you have something to say to me?" When he didn't answer she pressed, "Is it about the volleyball club?"

Immediately, Tadashi ducked his blonde head down to stare at his lap. "Y-yes..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Naachan."

"Don't be sorry. There's nothing to be sorry for. I just want you to consider your decisions very carefully. This is the club we're going to be in for the rest of the school year."

"We?" Tadashi blinked before flushing red. "I-I didn't realize I said that aloud..." he mumbled, hiding his face behind his bento.

"Yes, we," Naoko answered.  _Does... he not want me around?_ A bittersweet feeling consumed her; the same one a mother would feel as she saw her child spreading his wings for the first time. "Ta-Tadashi, do you feel up to doing things by yourself now?"  _Even after yesterday's encounter? Those third years could be in the volleyball club for all we know._

"I don't know, Naachan."

Tadashi's meek reply sent a wave of frustration coursing through Naoko's veins. She hated it when Tadashi couldn't make clear-cut decisions by himself, though she could see that it was partly her fault. It was always her who guided his hand. But now it was time for  _him_ to make his own decisions.

But Naoko was afraid that he wasn't ready for that just yet. Still, if Tadashi was finally gaining his independence back... "Do you really, really want to play volleyball?"

"Yes." The sheer determination in his voice shook her. Forcing herself to snap out of it, she forced a smile at him.

"O-oh. Then you should guh-guh-go for it." She had to resist the urge to slap herself in the face with both hands.  _'Guh-guh-go'? Seriously?_

"Y-you think so?"

"Of course! Tadashi, if you feel like you can do it, then I certainly won't stop you." She beamed at him. "Now eat up, you'll need your energy."

They hadn't even taken the first bite of their octopus balls when a familiar voice rang through the air.

"Yoohoo~ Maid-chan; Dashi-chan!"

As the brunet and his friend made his way up to them, any good mood Naoko might have had was instantly washed away. She fixed her face into a very familiar mask as the boys stopped before them. At least the spiky-haired boy had the grace to look at least a little ashamed for disrupting their lunch. But the brunet didn't looked very apologetic at all.

Surprisingly, it was Tadashi who spoke first. "A-ah, Oikawa-san..."

_This is Oikawa?_ Naoko scrunched up her nose, looking as if she had just eaten a block of expired cheese.  _What an annoying guy..._ "Did you need something, Oikawa-san?" she inquired politely.

"Not really, Maid-chan... I just thought I should become acquainted with you and Dashi-chan." He sat down next to Tadashi and hooked an arm around the guy. It took every last scrap of self-control Naoko had not to strike him for touching her brother so  _familiarly._ "Dashi-chan are classmates you see! So why not become friends?"

"Friends?" Tadashi parroted, flabbergasted. He shot Naoko a pleading look. One that did not go unnoticed by Oikawa's friend.

"Oi," the spiky-haired boy said gruffly. "You're making him uncomfortable, Trashykawa."

"Don't be silly, Iwa-chan." Oikawa flashed 'Iwa-chan' a grin as well as a victory sign with his fingers. "Dashi-chan and I will become friends soon, so why not?"

"Excuse me," Naoko interrupted, doing her best not to slap the boy across the face for his insolence. "But you do not get to make that decision, Oikawa-san."

"Eh? No need to be so uptight, Maid-chan~ I'm sure Dashi-chan can make friends on his own."

'Iwa-chan' sighed in exasperation and turned to Naoko. "Sorry about him. He can be an annoying little shitstain at times. I'm Iwaizumi Hajime and he's Oikawa Tooru."

"I noticed," Naoko answered dryly. "I'm Makoshima Naoko and this is my brother, Tadashi."

Suddenly, Oikawa appeared beside Naoko, startling the girl. "Brother, huh? You two don't look anything alike."

"Half-brother..." Tadashi murmured, gaining the attention of Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Naoko sent him a glance of mixed emotions. "I... am her half-brother."

"Tadashi," Naoko said warningly. "They didn't need to know that."

"S-sorry..."

"Also," Naoko shifted her attention to Oikawa, "please refrain from calling me 'maid-chan'. It's bad enough that you compared me to a cat last night."

"But cats are cute," Oikawa defended mildly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Naachan."

She stiffened. "Don't call me that either."  _That is strictly reserved for family and friends._ Not that she had any friends, though Umeko, the only person who called her 'Naachan' outside of family, might be considered a friend. The key word being  _might._

"Would Mako-chan work then?"

Well, it was better than 'Naachan' in any case. "... If you really must."

"Then it's settled. Nice to meet you, Mako-chan."

"I would like to say the feeling's mutual buts it's really not," Naoko said cuttingly, her patience worn thin. Without waiting for a reply, she shoved the first octopus ball in her mouth, her brows furrowed in annoyance as she chewed.

"Mako-chan!" Oikawa pouted, making Iwaizumi roll his eyes. "So rude."

"Come on, Bakawa. You've wasted enough of their time already."

"W-wait," Tadashi spoke up, his chopsticks halfway there to his mouth. "You're welcome to join us..."

Naoko's head shot up in alarm.  _... What? What the hell is Tadashi doing?!_ She tried her best not to groan in frustration. Knowing Tadashi, this was probably his way of trying to get redemption for stealing Oikawa's spaceship: by befriending him. Honestly, she didn't know what to think at this point.  _Is Oikawa really the type of person I want hanging around Tadashi? He doesn't seem so bad per se... just irritating and has the tendency to overstep his boundaries._

"Thank you, Dashi-chan," Oikawa said, sitting on the ground next to Naoko. "See, Mako-chan? You could learn a lot about manners from your brother~"

"And you could learn a little more about personal space," she retorted, digging into her bento again. She doubted that anything could make him go away right now. She would just have to put up with him for the meantime.

Iwaizumi only sighed and took his place next to Tadashi. So much for peace and quiet. Those two things didn't go together with Oikawa.

* * *

"You are terrible," Iwaizumi said to Oikawa after practice that evening.

"Eh? Where is this coming from, Iwa-chan?"

"Maybe from the fact that you're manipulating Makoshima? You're making him believe that your his friend. You and I both know that you're only using him and his sister to get revenge on him."

"So you're on his side now? Don't you remember what he did to me?"

"It was elementary. We were all idiots. I don't know if you remember, but you set the teacher's shoes on fire on the first day of grade four."

"He was still a prick," Oikawa huffed. "And now I'm going to get him back."

"Why can't you just let sleeping dogs lie? You're never going to move on if you keep doing this."

Oikawa pouted. "Maybe I don't want to move on. Not yet."

"Well you'd better do it soon, seeing as this is our last year."

* * *

Sumire yawned as she slipped her headphones over her ears, letting a world of RADWIMPS music fill her head.

With the music still blasting in her ears at nearly full volume, she entered the local mart and browsed through the snack section.

_Beef Flavour chips... Potato Flavour chips... wait, aren't all chips made from potato? Does it mean that it's unseasoned then? That would explain why it's the cheapest packet on the isle._

Shrugging, she picked up one of each of those flavours, curious as to why anyone would produce potato flavoured potato chips.

Someone tapped on her shoulder and she turned, sliding her headphones down and around her neck.

"Excuse me, but those happen to be the last potato flavoured potato chips. Give them to me."

"Uh... no." Sumire couldn't help but stare at the stranger who approached her so directly to  _demand_  her bag of potato chips.

"But I saw them first. I was going to come back to them but there was a sale on strawberry milk in the next isle."

Sumire cringed at how imploring his blue eyes were.  _What is going on with this guy...?_

He must have taken her silence the wrong way because he reached into her basket and removed the chips. Scowling, Sumire grabbed the bag but the boy refused to budge.

"Dude," Sumire started. "Let go."

The boy scowled and Sumire nearly flinched at how fearsome he looked. "Dumbass, these are mine. I told you I saw them first." Then he tried a different approach. "I'm older than you, kid. Just give them to me."

"Hah?! You're lording your age over me now? It's only circumstance that led you to be born earlier than me." She pulled as hard as she could on the chip packet. "Let go, you prick! And don't call me dumbass! You're the dumbass. What kind of logic are you using?"

"Logic a dumb brat like you won't understand!" He pulled harder, making her stumble into him. Growling, she tugged furiously at the chip packet, though it was a losing fight on her side. He was simply too strong.

But  _hell_ if she was going to give up. With one last cry, she pulled as hard as she could, falling backwards onto the hard floor as the bag tore. In a matter of seconds, the snack isle as raining chips.

"You ass!" she hissed. "Now look what you've done!"

"You should have just given them to me!" he shouted. "I tried to be nice but you're so damn difficult!"

"Nice?! You literally came up to me and  _ordered_ me to give them to you!"

"OI!" The pair flinched as a fat man wearing an apron came up to them with a broom in his hand. "What are you teenagers doing?! Look at the mess you've made! Get out of here!" Without warning, he swung his broom at them, making them both scramble to their feet and make haste for the exit.

"Great," the boy said dryly. "You got us kicked out."

"Me?! What about you?! This is all your fault!" She huffed and crossed her arms.  _Wait... oh no. Crap, crap crap -_

"Your making a weird face."

"Sh-shut up!" Letting out a frustrated moan, she sat on the curb and buried her face in her arms.

The boy's voice invaded the air again. "Are you going to cry or something? Don't be so pathetic, boys shouldn't cry over something so simple."

"I'm not going to cry! I just left my violin inside - " She paused, biting her lip. "W-wait... did... You think I'm a guy?"  _Is it the hair? It's not that short..._

"H-hah? You're not?" As he saw her start shaking, he cringed and kneeled beside her. "W-wait, I'm sorry... I shouldn't treat girls like I did. Don't cry," he added as the most awkward afterthought Sumire had ever heard. "Uhh, puh... please?"

"Dumbass!" she burst out, tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she  _laughed._ "You're such a dumbass!"

"Oi! Who you calling dumbass, dumbass?!"

"Indeed. Who  _are_ you calling a dumbass, Sumire?"

Sumire felt a chill run down her spine as a shadow loomed over her. "Ooh... h-hi nee-chan...!"

* * *

Naoko looked down at her sister and the boy that accompanied her, unimpressed. "Why aren't you home yet?"

Sumire twiddled her thumbs and bit her lip, a habit that Naoko hated but could never expell. "A-about that... I thought I'd just drop by the mart to get a few snacks. Oh! I left my violin in there by accident. Sorry."

"Snacks are fine as long as arrive home earlier," Naoko said sternly, frowning. "You know I don't like leaving Tadashi by himself. If I didn't have to return my rental violin back to Yamaguchi-san and go to work then I would still be at home looking after him. Don't linger outside for so long, Sumire-chan."

"I said I was sorry..." she muttered.

"Also, why are you calling random strangers dumbass?" Naoko demanded, turning to the black-haired boy that stood awkwardly to the side. "I apologize for my sister's insolence. But please refrain from calling  _her_ a dumbass as well. I don't like it when people insult my family."

"Sorry," the boy said, sweating under her icy glare.

"Great," Naoko said, looking down at her watch.  _Shit... I'm going to be late if I go to Yamaguchi-san now..._ "I'll have to pay a fee for late return tomorrow. I can't get to work without being late if I go to Yamaguchi-san's store now."

"Sorry," Sumire immediately offered.

"Stop apologizing and go back inside the store to get your violin."

Even the boy flinched at her harsh tone but Naoko refused to back down, even though she hated seeing the hurt look that passed through Sumire's features.

"I got kicked out," Sumire said hollowly.

"Hah?!"

"It was my fault!" the boy jumped in, bowing to her. It was quite a sight to see; a boy of five foot eleven bowing to a girl of five foot two. "I got us kicked out. It wasn't her fault."

"H-hey," Sumire said, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "We both argued and lost our tempers. It wasn't just your fault." Then she too bowed to Naoko. "I'm sorry for causing trouble, nee-chan. We both are."

"Fine, fine, get up. Sumire, go apologize to the store owner and ask for your violin back. Then start heading home. If Tadashi gets hungry, you can heat up some leftovers from last night."

Nodding wordlessly, Sumire did as she was told, though she was visibly pale at the prospect of confronting the temperamental store owner Naoko knew ran the place.

When Sumire disappeared inside the store, she focused on the boy, a stranger who had defended her sister. "You're a strange one. What's your name?"

He looked slightly ticked at being called strange but ignored the jab, something that Naoko had to admire in him. "Kageyama Tobio."

Naoko nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Kageyama-san. I'm Makoshima Naoko." She checked her watch. "I would love to talk more with you but I have to get to work." She clicked her tongue when she remembered she still had the rental violin.  _Stupid idiot. I should have returned it earlier!_ "Stupid... Now that's another fee I have to pay..."

She was walking away when Kageyama called after her, "Wait! Did you say you have to return it to Yamaguchi-san?"

"Huh? Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I can do it for you. I know Yamaguchi-san's son personally as he helped me study before. I'll give it to him tonight."

Naoko blinked.  _Why is he doing this? To get back in my favor? But why? I doubt I'll ever see him again._ "Are you sure? You don't have to do this."

"I'm sure. I want to apologize for the trouble I caused Sumire-san."

"Well, if you're sure." She handed the violin case to Kageyama. "Thank you, Kageyama-san. I owe you one. Give me your phone."

"H-hah?"

Naoko raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to give you my number as well as Sumire's if you ever want to sort things out with her. Text or call me when you've figured out what you want. And if you're unnecessarily rude to Sumire I'll know so don't try anything."

"Ah, okay..."

As they exchanged numbers, Sumire emerged from the store, sullen. The hand which she held her violin in was completely red. Immediately, Naoko pinpointed the redness of her hand, narrowing her eyes.

"What did he do to you?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing..."

"Don't lie to me, Sumire."

Sumire glared up at her with teary eyes. "He hit me, okay?! He whipped my hand with a ruler to discipline me."

Instantly, Naoko stiffened up. She just about shoved her work bag into Kageyama's arms (who nearly dropped his phone at the sudden intrusion). "I'll be right back. A full grown man should not hit a twelve year old girl, discipline be damned."  _Screw work. Umeko-san won't mind much if I'm late since Tuesdays aren't that busy anyway. That man will not hit my sister ever again._

She pushed open the door and stormed up straight to the store owner. "Oi."

* * *

"I should get home now," Sumire said, her violin case swaying from side to side. "See ya... stranger."

"Kageyama Tobio."

"Eh?"

"Tch. It's my name, dumbass..."

"I knew that! I was just surprised you'd talk to me even after all that."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because even though she doesn't mean it, Naoko-nee usually scares people away."

Kageyama cast a glance at the store. Through the tinted windows, he could vaguely make out the shape of Naoko Makoshima giving the manager a stern lecture. "Yeah, I can see why," he said as the argument seemed to escalate. "Oh! Before I forget, your sister gave me your number."

"Hah? Why?"

"Hell if I know. Something about sorting things out between us."

"Yeah... I'm Makoshima Sumire by the way. And I have to go or else Naoko will kill me. Text me later if you want. If your friends don't think texting a thirteen year old girl is weird," she added with a cheeky grin.

"Thirteen? Your sister said you were twelve."

At that, Sumire faltered and her smile disappeared.  _Oh. So she still doesn't remember._ "She's wrong. I don't blame her though, she's the one who puts food on the table and takes care of us. So what if she can't remember my birthday?" She shrugged. "It's... no big deal."  _It's no big deal. Really. Just forget about it, Sumire._

"Oh. Um, happy birthday. I guess. If it's not too late."

She couldn't help it. She had to laugh. "It was yesterday, so that's fine." Sumire turned to where the sun was setting over the horizon. "You know, you're not so bad, Kageyama-san. I can't believe we fought over potato chips. They probably weren't that good anyway."

"Then why did you put up a fight, dumbass?"

"Hey! You fought over it too, don't forget!" Sumire let out a deep sigh. "I really do have to go home now, so stop riling me up already. For the last time,  _bye_."

"Hmph... I'll talk to you later then, Mako-san."

"... I look forward to it."

* * *

**LINE: KARASUNO VOLLEYBALL CLUB**

[Hinata]: KAGEYAMA MET A GIRL TODAY

[Nishinoya]: HAAH?!

[Nishinoya]: WHY DOES MY KOHAI GET A GIRL IN HIS FIRST YEAR? IS SHE CUTE?

[Kageyama]: HINATA DUMBASS

[Kageyama]: I KNEW I SHOULDNT HAVE TOLD U

[Kageyama]: COME OUT OF THE BATHROOM

[Hinata]: NO WAY

[Hinata]: YOUR JUST GONNA BEAT ME UPP

[Yamaguchi]: thanks for bringing the violin back, Kageyama

[Sugawara]: Why is everyone awake at this time? It's very late. Please go to sleep.

[Tanaka]: ehh? then why are you awake, Suga?

[Sugawara]: To tell everyone to sleep

[Tsukishima]: Can we just address the fact that you stay up late to tell others not to stay up late? I never took you for a hypocrite, senpai.

[Nishinoya]: DONT TALK TO YOUR SENPAI THAT WAY

[Tanaka]: STINGYSHIMA

[Sawamura]: GO TO SLEEP ALL OF YOU

[Tanaka]: sorry

[Nishinoya]: sorry

[Hinata]: i'll just sleep in the bathroom

[Kageyama]: i'll sleep outside the bathroom until you come out then

[Yamaguchi]: i'm in bed now please don't be mad dad

[Yamaguchi]: that was a typo, i swear

_Tsukishima has left the group chat._

[Sugawara]: Goodnight~

[Sugawara]: Also, someone invite Tsukishima back tomorrow morning

[Yamaguchi]: yes mom

[Yamaguchi]: I SWEAR I'M NOT DOING THIS ON PURPOSE MY FINGERS ARE SHAKING

* * *

_**A/N: Dadchi and Sugamama...** _

_**Listened to 'Spring Day' by BTS as I wrote this. I strongly recommend that to you as a reader. And just to clarify, Yamamoto from the flashback is not the same Yamamoto that goes to Nekoma. In Japan, Yamamoto is a relatively common surname.** _

* * *

**OC Character Sheet**

**Full name:** Makoshima Naoko

**DOB:** December 24th

**Age:** 16

**Height:** 157.48cm (5'2)

**Weight:** 48kg

**Appearance:** Black hair that reaches down to her shoulder blades, gray eyes normally flat and impassive gaze. Rarely seen smiling or laughing. Usually seen in a butler uniform, school uniform or tracksuit.

**Occupation:** Student (2nd year in high school), waitress, self defence instructor

**School:** Aobajosai

**Favorite food:** Hamburg Steak

**Current concern(s):** Protecting and providing for her brother and sister.

**Statistics (out of 5):**

Power: 3

Jump: 3

Stamina: 4

Strategy: 3

Technique: 2

Speed: 4


	4. Week End

_There is no one I hate more than myself. For being the way I am, I've brought shame onto our family. No matter what Naoko insists, I will always be different. And being different isn't always a good thing._

_\- Tadashi Makoshima_

* * *

For millions of people, Friday was the best day of the week. In Western culture, there were even slogans and maxims revolving around the sheer brilliance of Friday, such as TGIF, the acronym for Thank God It's Friday.

For Sumire Makoshima, Friday held something different.

As she shuffled down the white halls of the hospital, she fingered her headphones nervously, wondering what she would say when it was realized that Naoko Makoshima did not walk beside her.

"Good afternoon, Sumire-san," one of the nurses, Aiko Nakamura, greeted. Her blonde curls were lovely as usual and the clipboard she tucked in the crook of her elbow gave her a professional air. "Makoshima-san seems to be quite lively today. She'll be very happy to see you."

"That's good," Sumire replied. "And good afternoon to you too, Nakamura-san. It's always nice to see you." She fidgeted nervously in front of room 1408. "Ah... Nakamura-san?"

"Hah? Is something wrong, Sumire-san?"

"My sister couldn't come with me today."

"Oh." Nakamura's facial expression changed to one of concern. "No matter, Makoshima-san will brighten up just by seeing you anyway."

"If you say so."

Deciding that it was time to bite the bullet, Sumire opened the door and entered room 1408. "Obaa-chan?"

"Sumi-kun!"

Her grandmother's bed rested against the wall. The woman herself was hooked up to all sorts of machines and IV drips. Her hair was white with age, but the wrinkles on her face were all from smiling.

"I'm not a boy, Baba," Sumire reminded gently, using the affectionate nickname she gave her grandmother.

"I know that, Sumi-kun. But I prefer 'Sumi-kun' to 'Sumi-chan'. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess." Grinning, she hugged her grandmother as carefully as possible. "I've missed you, Baba!"

"I've missed you too, child. Where's Naachan?"

_She couldn't make it because she has to pull a late shift again. She couldn't make it because she's busy earning money for all of us and there's nothing I can do to dissuade her from it. Our parents left us lots of money but Naachan likes to plan ahead. I'm sorry Baba._ All of these answers circled in her mind but she hated the sound of all of them.

"Sumi-kun?"

"Friends!" Sumire blurted, hating herself even more for lying to her grandmother. "Naoko-nee is hanging out with her friends."  _Oh god, that was even worse. How selfish can you be to pick friends over family? I've painted nee-chan in an even worse light!_

But to her surprise, her grandmother smiled. "That's good. I'm so glad Naachan is finally opening up to people again. Tell her that I love her and miss her."

"Obaa-chan... don't make it sound like you're dying."

"Me? Die? I'm not dying anytime soon, child! I still have my other granddaughter and grandson to see before I pass. When is Tadashi going to visit again anyway? He never visits."

Sumire did not know how to explain.  _Should I tell them that Tadashi is terrified of hospitals because of childhood trauma? But that would raise even more questions and Baba doesn't know... about what happened to him._

"He's very busy," Sumire said lamely. "He's a third year after all and he has a lot of catching up to do."

"Oh. I see." Her grandmother turned her kind gaze to Sumire. "I only hope that one day I will know the secret that you all try so hard to keep from me. I hope that one day you can trust me enough not to turn a judgmental eye on you all."

"I'm sorry, obaa-chan."

"Stop being sorry for things out of your control. Are you forcing your brother and sister not to see me?"

"N-no..."

"Then there is nothing to be sorry for."

_Then why is it that I feel like I need to be sorry for everything that happens to us?_

* * *

The fact that Wednesday, Thursday  _and_ Friday passed by without any major incident was enough to put Naoko on edge. So the first thing she did Saturday morning was check up on Tadashi. The boy was peacefully sleeping in his bed, his flanks rising and falling.

Naoko frowned slightly before returning to her room and freshening up. She should have known Tadashi would be asleep. After the six-day school week was dashed in 2002, Tadashi had always taken advantage of lazy weekends. On the other hand, Naoko was a natural early bird.

After freshening up, she headed downstairs, ready to snatch up a breakfast biscuit that she would eat while she went out for a quick jog around the neighborhood. When she entered the kitchen, Sumire was already awake and eating.

"Instant ramen?" Naoko said by way of greeting, hands on her hips.

"It's good," Sumire replied, taking a huge bite of her breakfast. "You look dressed up today. Are you going somewhere, nee-chan?" Her gaze darkened with worry. "It's not work, is it?" Without even waiting for an answer, she stood up, nearly knocking her bowl of noodles off the table. "Because if you are, I'll come with you to help!"

"No, no. Saturday mornings are my time to relax and unwind. I know that I'm a workaholic, Sumire-chan, but even I know that it's good to take a break once in a while."

"Oh, okay. That's good nee-chan." Then her phone buzzed and she turned her attention to it, smiling a little when she read the messages she had been sent.

"Oya?" Naoko snatched her phone from the table, making her cry out indignantly. "What's this? Who are you talking to?" Her eyebrows rose when she read the name of the sender. "Ohoho... Kageyama-san?"

"Like you have room to talk. You gave him your number too."

"Yes, but I did it without having any intentions of becoming mushy with him. Speaking of, he still needs to text me back for that favor I owe him."

Sumire stuck out her tongue in disgust, though Naoko could clearly see that it was feigned. "Don't say it like we're dating or something, nee-chan. We're just two people who talk. I don't even know if we're friends."

"Trust me, you're friends." She read the text aloud, " _Oh my sweet, lovely flower, won't you join me for a coffee this afternoon? Every night, I dream of your beautiful visage smiling upon me -_ "

"Hey! That is  _not_ what it says!" Huffing, Sumire removed her phone from Naoko's clutches and put it where Naoko could not reach.

"Relax, Sumire-chan. But I'm curious, why did Kageyama invite you to his volleyball practice?"  _How convenient. Of course he's a volleyball player. This can't be a coincidence. Tadashi wants to get back into volleyball again and then Kageyama shows up. Next, Iwaizumi and Oikawa will suddenly become volleyball players too._

"Oh, that's because I mentioned that I used to play in elementary in one of our earlier texts."

"You did? I-I didn't know that." She looked down in shame, making Sumire smile crookedly.  _How... How could I not have known?_ She searched her memory but could not recall anything about Sumire ever playing volleyball.

"That's alright. You were busy with other things. Besides, I have RADWIMPS and violin to keep me occupied." She tapped her headphones, the one she always wore around her neck or over her ears (in this case it sat around her neck), for emphasis.

"Ah. So what position did you play?"

"Libero, but I did a lot of tossing too so I may as well be a setter also."

"Nice." Naoko grabbed one set of the house keys from the kitchen table and placed a breakfast biscuit in her mouth. "I'll be off then. Hopefully I can get back before Tadashi wakes up. Oh! I should write him a note and put it on the fridge saying where I am..." Distracted, the biscuit nearly fell out of her mouth as she hastily scribbled a message for Tadashi and stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet. "Don't stay out for too long," she said through a mouthful of biscuit. At least it was coherent enough for Sumire to understand as she nodded. "Come back for lunch, okay?"

"Yes, nee-chan."

"And please, for goodness sake, don't get yourself kicked out from anywhere else, with or without Kageyama-san."  _Okay, maybe that was a little unnecessary but still._

" _Yes,_ nee-chan, I got it."

"Good."

* * *

Sumire quickly finished her noodles, cursing herself as she remembered something.  _I can't believe I forgot to tell nee-chan about obaa-chan wanting to see her! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ She made a mental note to do so later and put the empty bowl in the sink.

Then, in great haste, she went over to the living room and picked up a violin case, her eyes on the watch she wore around her wrist. Her sister always did insist on all of them wearing watches. Personally, Sumire thought her own watch was too bulky and manly for her thin frame. But Tadashi thought it was cool and that was what convinced her to keep wearing it.

She had locked the front door behind her when her phone pinged, indicating that another text had arrived from Kageyama. It couldn't be anyone else, really, as she remained friendless in Kitagawa Daiichi. Tadashi was asleep and Naoko was out on a jog, which left Kageyama to be the only possibility.

The girl had to smirk when she read the text, which not so subtly demanded her to come over soon as the volleyball club apparently wanted to see her play. She didn't understand why, honestly. She wasn't anything special when it came to volleyball. If she didn't know anything better, she would figure that Kageyama wanted her there to cheer him on.  _Boys always do like their egos stroked by a girl fan or two._

As walked the long distance down to Karasuno High, she couldn't help but notice that the violin inside her case rattled more than usual. It was almost as if it had broken into tiny pieces during the night.

_How strange._

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me." Naoko sent a withering glance toward Oikawa's direction as she slowed down her jog. The boy was standing underneath a cherry blossom tree, chatting up a group of girls with his false charm. The sight wasn't exactly unusual and Naoko had learned to ignore it but what she could not forgive was that it wasn't any old cherry blossom tree that they were standing under.

It was their tree; hers and Tadashi's. The one they took their lazy summer afternoon naps under. The one where they would joke to their heart's content and eat watermelon under. And now, they were there. To Naoko, their presence might as well be sacrilege.

_It's a public place,_ she reasoned with herself.  _Just keep jogging and come back later to see if they did anything to the tree._ She nodded at her own logic and was starting to move again when Oikawa noticed her.

"Mako-chan! Hi, Mako-chan!"

Naoko groaned and halted, glaring at him. "What?" Everything about the guy just annoyed her.

"Is it wrong of me to say hi to a good friend of mine, Mako-chan?"

"I am not your friend," Naoko hissed, trying to move away from him. The action was in vain, however, when Oikawa blocked her way. "Can you let me through, please?"

"Now, now, Mako-chan~"

"Oikawa-san," one of the girls he was talking to interrupted, glaring at Naoko as if she were something that just crawled out from a drain. "Who is this?"

Naoko glanced at her impassively before returning her attention to Oikawa. Christ, these girls really weren't worth her time. Neither was Oikawa but she preferred him to these... hags. "Are we done here, Oikawa-san?" she asked. "I'd like to continue with my morning jog if you don't mind."

"Good idea, Mako-chan... we can jog together."

She shot him a look. "That really wasn't what I meant." But then her gaze shifted to the jealous harpies lingering around him. Considering how unpleasant she found them to be, perhaps Oikawa felt the same way despite his ever charming smile. "But I don't see why not. You can come if you can keep up, Oikawa."

"Hah? No honorific?" one of the girls whispered loudly to the other. "Who does she think she is?"

But Oikawa only smiled. "Bring it on, Mako-chan~"

And they left the girls in the dust.

"Thank you for that," Oikawa said as they ran past the bakery and past the florist. "I saw what you were doing."

"Always watching," Naoko noted. "It's a good quality to have, Oikawa-san."

"Did Mako-chan just compliment me? I guess you must be falling for me after all." He gave her a teasing wink and she rolled her eyes despite how much charm he had put into that gesture.

"Don't flatter yourself," she deadpanned. "The enemy of my enemies is my friend."

"Ouch. You really a are a tsun-tsun."

Naoko stopped abruptly, Oikawa nearly tripping over himself as he came to a halt as well.

"What did you call me?" she inquired, incredulous.  _A what now?_ "If you're going to insult me at least do it in Japanese."

He stared her a bit, wondering if she was really that dense when it came to colloquial language or just being deliberately obtuse. "Tsundere," he clarified, watching her reaction.

_Tsundere...? Oh. OH._ "Tsundere? I would hardly call myself a tsundere, Oikawa-san. For one, I don't have violent tendencies."  _Only if they hurt Tadashi or Sumire would I ever lash out._

"And what if they hurt your family?"

Curses, so he remembered. The sound of a third year's pained grunt as she punched him in the solar plexus rang in her ears. "That's different. If they hurt my family, then I guarantee you that I will hurt them back."

"So you believe in revenge?"

"If the circumstances call for it, then yes, I do."

He smiled again, but this time Naoko couldn't tell if it was fake or not. "I'm glad we agree on something, Mako-chan."

* * *

"Nice serve!"

"Mine!"

"Good receive, Noya!"

"Argh, it went over!"

"Free ball!"

"Don't mind, Nishinoya-senpai!"

_Well, they're certainly an excitable bunch,_ Sumire thought as she opened the door quietly, entering the gym with equal silence. She watched awkwardly as a bald guy took off his shirt and started whipping it around after scoring a point. On the sidelines, a blonde girl was blushing furiously at the display.

"P-please p-put your shirt back on, T-Tanaka-senpai," the girl spluttered, trying to hide her face behind her clipboard. "I'll never get used to this..."

"Hello," Sumire said loudly, deciding to announce her presence. "That was a nice rally you played."

At once, every single pair of eyes turned to her. It made her sweat, as she was used to blending in with the crowd, but she didn't regret her decision. Might as well get this over and done with.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The bald guy strutted up to her and pulled a face that made her shudder. "Who do you think you are, busting in on our practice, kid?" He eyed her up and down. "And what's with that outfit? Are you a shitty boy spy or something?"

Sumire stared at him in disbelief. "Shitty boy spy? Excuse me?"

Among the throng of boys, a beanpole with glasses snickered. "Pfft, shitty boy..."

A boy with silver hair sighed in exasperation and pulled the baldy back by the ear. "Stop it with the city boy thing, Tanaka. It's embarrassing."

"Sorry about that," a black-haired male said. "He can get a little... overzealous sometimes."

"I noticed." Suddenly feeling a little self conscious at all the attention she was receiving, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry for busting in on your practice like that. Kageyama-san invited me to watch. I'll just be sitting on the bleachers. You won't even know I'm there." She turned her gaze on Tanaka, who was looking indignantly at her. "And for the record, I'm a girl. Not a 'shitty boy' as you so eloquently put it."

She didn't know how but Tanaka was suddenly all the way on the other side of the gym, pulling a somewhat monk-like expression, complete with his hands out in prayer position. "I knew that."

"You did not!"

"Again with the Bodhisattva faces, Tanaka-senpai?" a boy with seaweed-green hair said.

"Tanaka, stop that!"

"Uwaah!" Sumire flinched as an orange energiser bunny bounded up to her. "You're shorter than me!"

"Hinata dumbass!" Kageyama, who had not been present when she arrived, was at the door holding his drink bottle, having ducked out to refill it earlier. "You don't just say that to someone!"

"That was rather insensitive," the silver-haired boy said, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

Sumire sweatdropped at the sight of the smaller Hinata taking on Kageyama. "It's fine... I'm bound to be shorter. I'm still a middle schooler."

Everyone got back to practice but Kageyama followed her to the bleachers and sat down. "Sorry about that. Hinata can be a dumbass at times. Actually, all the time."

"Like I said, it's fine." She opened up her bag and pulled out two strawberry milks - one for her and one for him. "Here."

He blinked in surprise but took it without complaint. "Thanks." Before long, the whole carton was emptied.

"You really love your strawberry milk," she remarked, calmly sipping her own carton. "Make sure you don't overwork yourself out there or you'll find yourself with a stomachache."

"Are you my mom, Makoshima-san?"

"Wha?! Shut up, dumbass!"

"Don't call me a dumbass,  _mom!_ " he mocked, earning a whack upside the head.

Down on the courts, the blonde beanpole yawned. "Is the King done flirting with his Queen? Or is too good for us commoners?"

Immediately, Kageyama stormed down, a vein on his temple throbbing. "Tsukishima, you bastard!"

Shaking her head, Sumire sat back and relaxed, sipping her strawberry milk as the boys did their thing.

* * *

Naoko grimaced as Oikawa made her sit down on the outside cafe table. This was definitely a bad idea. First of all, he insisted on going to the maid cafe where she worked at. She would definitely be recognised if Umeko served them. And knowing Oikawa, he would probably insist on having her as their maid.

And second... there were too many seconds for Naoko to bother comprehending right now as she was currently being forced into an impromptu date by none other than Oikawa Tooru, who, apparently, wanted to earn 'friendship points' with her.

It was strange and immature, but Naoko found herself amused by his childish antics.  _I can't believe this is the so-called Prince of Aobajosai. Even Sumire is more mature than him. If only the ladies could see him now..._

"Why the long face, Mako-chan?"

"Why do you think?"

"Any other girl in your place would be enjoying themselves."

"I don't think my sister would, actually."

He leaned forward until their faces almost touched but Naoko refused to be affected by their sudden closeness. It would just mean letting Oikawa win friendship points or whatever bullshit he was trying to pull off.

"Oh?" he purred. "Enlighten me. I want to know more about your family, Mako-chan."

"If this is your weird way of coming on to my sister, let me just say that she's twelve, pervert."

At that, he recoiled, scrunching up his nose. "I can't believe you led me on like that, Mako-chan..."

"Not my fault you walked into it so easily."

Before Oikawa could retort, a bright and bubbly waitress approached them. "Good morning, master, mistress." Umeko smirked at them. "What may I do for you?"

"Umeko-san," Naoko started, narrowing her eyes at her boss. "Please don't say anything."

"You got it, Naachan! I won't mention to the entire staff that you're on a date with the most handsome devil I've ever seen! My lips are sealed!"

Oikawa shot Naoko a smug look as the ravenette's eye twitched.  _Thanks a lot, Umeko. Like he needs his ego stroked even more._

When Umeko left with their orders and a smirk, Oikawa turned back to Naoko. "Are you enjoying our date so far?"

"I would hardly call this a date Oikawa-san. We're just two people eating together."

"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to know more about your family, Mako-san," Oikawa said, leaning back in his chair. "If I don't get on with your family, how am I going to earn friendship points with you?"

"You  _don't._ " A tick mark appeared on the side of her head. "But since you insist... I suppose it can't hurt to tell you a little. Just promise me something, Oikawa-san. That's what I want in return."

"Oho?"

"Promise me that you won't laugh at me when I'm done. Or look at me with any kind of sadness or pity." She scowled. "Got that?" He nodded affirmatively and she exhaled through her nose, wondering where to begin. "I live with my brother and my sister. You already know Tadashi. My sister is called Sumire. Our parents are dead."

She crossed her arm, finished.

Oikawa blinked once. Twice. "That's it?"

"Were you expecting more?"

"Frankly,  _yes,_ Mako-chan. It won't hurt to open up to me a little more."

Naoko scoffed and shifted her gaze to the opposite street where a lady was walking her Japanese Shih Tzu. "You're so irritating... Did you really think I was going to tell you about my entire life?"

"Not really." He smirked. "But how many friendship points do I need to get to that?"

"More than you'll ever get in your lifetime."

"Mean, Mako-chan... you won't even give me a chance. I just want to be your friend. Is that too much to ask?"

She didn't answer. Frankly, she didn't know how to.  _... Friend? This guy wants to be my friend? How... weird._ Why would  _anyone_ even want to be her friend, let alone the Prince of Aobajosai? Naoko hadn't read much shoujo manga in her lifetime, but she was sure that guys like him didn't befriend girls like her.

Then again, this was real life, not shoujo. She wasn't shallow enough to classify people into archetypes.

"Hello? Mako-chan?" Oikawa waved a hand in front of her face. "You've got that look in your eyes again. That oyster shell look."

"Oyster shell look?" she parroted, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You go all like this." Moaning, he slumped over his chair and rolled his eyes backward until she could only see the whites.

_What the fuck?!_ "Argh! You idiot!" She kicked his leg under the table, causing him to cry out and glare at her, a tear in the corner of his eye. "I do  _not_ look like that."

"You do!" he whined, rubbing his shin. "You're so violent, Mako-chan! You really are a tsundere."

"In my defense, you are extremely annoying," she grumbled, crossing her arms. "I'd like you better if you just shut your mouth."

"Come on, Mako-chan, you don't really mean that." The look he gave her sent shivers down her spine. "I can do a lot of things with my mouth, Mako-chan... all you have to do is ask."

_What. The. Fuck. What. The. Actual. Fuck._ "Negative friendship points for you," she said coolly, trying to downplay her embarrassment with that perfected icy mask of hers. Just for extra measure, she bopped him on the head with her empty drink bottle.

"Ouch! Mako-chan!" Oikawa scowled and stuck his tongue out at her. "Have you been talking with Iwa-chan or something?"

And there it was. The immature little kid side of him.  _Honestly, it's like he has two personalities. How can he be so childish one moment and so..._ She grimaced as she finished the thought.  _... Sensual the next?_

"Oh, our food's here." Oikawa tilted his head to one side to let Umeko put milk bread and soda on their table.

"Here you go!" Umeko chirped, clapping her hands in delight. "Now I'll leave you two alone~ You can tell me all about it later, Naachan," she added with a playful wink.

"Just leave," Naoko said gruffly.

"Oho! Someone's eager to spend time with their booyyyfriend!"

"I swear, if you weren't my boss, I'd hit you."

Trying to ignore Oikawa, Naoko grabbed a slice of milk bread, tearing off a chunk and chewing it slowly. On the other hand, Oikawa was eating whole slices at a time, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.

"So this is your favorite food?" Naoko asked when Oikawa finally swallowed.

"How observant of you, Mako-chan. And since you know what my favorite food is, you have to tell me yours."

Naoko hummed in contemplation, furrowing her brows in concentration. As she thought, Oikawa leaned forward in anticipation, as if she was revealing some big secret. Then her features relaxed and their gazes met.

The corners of Naoko's mouth curved upward in a small smile as she announced, "I don't have a favorite food."

"Hah?! All that build up for nothing? Surely you have to have a food that you wouldn't trade for any other food? Right? Mako-chan?" He looked imploringly up at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Not everyone has to have a favorite food... Bakawa."

"That's it. I hereby decree that Mako-chan is no longer allowed to see Iwa-chan."

Naoko didn't even realize she was laughing until her cheeks started hurting from smiling too much. Reddening in embarrassment, she quickly found her composure again. "That wasn't funny at all," she denied lamely.  _Geez... when was the last time I did that?_

Oikawa was blinking curiously at her. He poked her cheek and she tried her best not to bite off his finger. Instead, she settled for a heart stopping glare. But he ignored it and poked her even harder.

"... Stop that." She smacked his hand away. "What were you trying to do?"

"I've never seen you laugh before." He knitted his brows together, his expression solemn. "All girls are supposed to be cute when they laugh."

"What are you getting at - "

"You're scary when you laugh, Mako-chan. Even scarier than my kohai when he smiles."

Naoko stared blankly at him. Then, a sickly sweet smile found its way onto her face. Without warning, she picked up the plate of milk bread and held it threateningly above the ground.

"Ack! Mako-chan! Don't drop it!" He stood up and reached over the table to try and save his poor milk bread from getting dirtied.

"Shittykawa!"

"Don't shorten the insults!"

"Shitty Oikawa!"

"No need to rephrase it either!"

The table nearly tipped and Naoko wobbled on her chair, the milk bread sliding all over the plate. "Hey! Be careful, idiot!"

"Put the bread down!"

Naoko tried to regain her balance but she was already falling backward. Panicking, she grabbed the first thing she could: Oikawa's shirt collar. Yelling, they both went down together, the plate of milk bread flying over the air in a high arc.

The pair landed with Oikawa squashing Naoko underneath his torso, but both were focused on the milk bread, which had now separated from the plate. Their eyes helplessly followed the parabola the plate traveled in, milk bread scattering all over the place.

The plate shattered like with all of Oikawa's hopes and dreams after their last defeat against Shiratorizawa. Fluffy milk bread landed on the concrete. Umeko's disembodied head popped out of the cafe door.

"You're going to have to pay for that, Naachan."

Groaning, Naoko placed her forehead against the ground. "Thanks a lot, Shittykawa."  _... We got too carried away._

"It wasn't just my fault. Maybe if  _someone_ hadn't decided to endanger the milk bread everything would be fine and dandy." He rolled off her and helped her up (she grudgingly took his hand). "... I'm sorry though. I shouldn't have said that you looked like a deranged hyena when you laugh."

"... You didn't say that until just then." She shrugged off the grime that had collected on her clothes. "I guess that was partly my fault also. Looks like I'm going have to pull another shift to earn the money back."

"No need," Oikawa reassured, pulling out his wallet. "I'll pay for it."

_I definitely didn't see that one coming._ "Oikawa-san..."

But, to her dismay, he shushed her. "Don't say anything, Mako-chan. I've got it." With a wink, he gave the appropriate amount of cash to Umeko, who was still standing at the door, arms akimbo.

Naoko's heart sank as she watched Umeko pocket the money. "O-oh..." She cleared her throat as she rejoined Oikawa. "You didn't have to do that, Oikawa-san."

"Yes I did," he stated. "But if you're really going to be like this..." He poked her cheek again, earning a frosty glare ("Stop touching me, weirdo.") "Then I guess that means you owe me one."

"Deal. And stop touching my face, you shitty guy!"

"I can't help it, Mako-chan! You look like an angry cat~"

Naoko nailed Oikawa on the head with her water bottle, making him stumble forward and cry out indignantly. "How annoying..."

* * *

The vocals of her favorite band was her only world until someone lifted her headphones off. Sumire glanced upward at Kageyama, who was sweating from practice. Silently, she tugged them back from Kageyama's hands and planted them on her ears again.

But he took them off again. "Oi. We're getting pork buns after one more match."

"Eh? Pork buns...?" She took her feet off the row of seats in front of her and stood up, violin case in hand (she always brought it with her). "Am I coming too...?"

"Of course." He dragged her from the seat and down onto the courts. "But first, you're going to play with us."

"Hah?!"

"Makoshima-san is playing!" Kageyama announced before she could protest further. "Please don't hesitate to spike in her face."

"What the?! Are you trying to get me killed, dumbass?!"

"Alright!" Hinata cheered. "She can play on our team!"

"But we're going to have to sub one of our players out," another pointed out. Sumire remembered him being Ennoshita or something.

"I'll go," another boy with shaved head (not Tanaka) volunteered. "I have to go help my grandmother out at her store anyway. See you later, guys."

A few of them waved to Not-Tanaka as he took his leave. Sumire was about to turn back when Kageyama grabbed her wrist. "Hey."

Sumire scowled at him. "Let me go, Kageyama-san, I don't particularly feel like dying today."

"I'll pay for your pork bun if you play."

She bit her lip.  _Is he serious? Free food... that means I won't have to get lunch later. Which means I don't have to spend any more of Naoko-nee's money. But if I end up hospitalized... yeah, that's not going to happen._ "Fine. But  _please_ don't hospitalize me."

Tsukishima glanced condescendingly down at her. "Are you sure you want to let the Queen play, King? She's not exactly built for the sport."

"... I don't like you," she said flatly before Kageyama could heatedly snap at the middle blocker. "The only positive outlook I have for you is that you probably treat everyone else just as poorly."

"Trust me, he does!" Nishinoya called from the back.

"Actually, Tsukki - "

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

They all got into their positions in another six against six game, Sumire starting out on the middle back. Sumire noted with glee that Tsukishima didn't seem as smug as he did before as Ennoshita served, sending the ball flying at the black-haired captain, who received it solidly right to where Kageyama was at. The setter tossed the ball and Tanaka sprang up to meet it, breaking through Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's block by spiking it down to the other side.

"Yes!" But the celebration was cut short when Nishinoya dove and saved the ball. The silver-haired setter tossed it to Tsukishima, who tipped the ball over the blockers' fingers.

The game was mostly a blur to Sumire until one pivotal moment: set point for both teams.

"Ah!" Hinata hissed in pain as he deflected the brown-haired ace's powerful spike ( _Asahi, was it?_  Sumire wondered). The ball continued on its trajectory, only slightly skewed by the deflection. Straight to setter position... where Sumire happened to be.

"Sumire!" Kageyama called from the back left.

But Sumire didn't answer him, even if he did call her by her first name. Instead, she lifted her arms up in a familiar position.  _... There we go._ _I could try a setter dump but the men's official height is too high for me to do it effectively._ Her mind continued to spit out alternatives until the ball finally touched her fingers. She still hadn't made up her mind but she had to do  _something_. With a small grunt, she tossed it to where Hinata was waiting. The boy jumped, the ball smacking against his palm in a perfect spike, landing in the back corner of the court. Nishinoya dashed over to save it, skidding against the floor, but he was too late. Cursing, the boy hit the floor with his fist.

"Uwaah!" Sumire nearly shrieked as Hinata  _picked her up_ and swung her around. "That was such a good set!"

"Oi, get off her!" An irritated Kageyama pried Hinata from her. "Dumbass, you don't just do that to a girl."

"Ah! Sorry, Makoshima-san!"

"... It's fine."

As they packed up, Kageyama picked up a stray volleyball and served it against the wall, seeing as everyone else had the rest of the equipment covered. On the last serve, he hit the ball with the wrong part of his hand, and he cursed as it rebounded to a different direction. His eyes widened. "Makoshima-san, watch out!"

Sumire turned. And ducked. The ball flew over her head, nearly hit the blonde manager (who shrieked with alarm, backpedaling into an annoyed Tsukishima) and smacked against her violin case, sending it splaying across the gym floor.

Her world stopped. Stopped and started again. "Fuck." She rarely cursed (Naoko would kill her if she said anything dirtier than 'dumbass'), but this definitely called for it. Voices echoed around her as she ran to her fallen violin case and pried it open.

"Kageyama, you idiot!" Tanaka scolded.

Sumire could vaguely hear Kageyama apologizing furiously but all she could focus on were the bits and pieces of a violin lying inside the case.

"Shit," Kageyama swore as he saw the damage, "Shit, I'm so sorry - " He knelt beside her, watching her shocked expression with guilty eyes. "Sumire - " He cut himself off, not knowing how to console her. "I'm sorry. Fuck, that was so idiotic."

The silver-haired setter cuffed him on the head. "Language," he scolded quietly, nudging his head toward her. A middle schooler didn't need to hear such obscenities (he must have missed it when Sumire herself said the same thing).

Sumire stiffened when Kageyama silently wrapped his arms around her shoulder, muttering a mixture of apologies and curse words. Her small frame shook and she clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Uh oh."

"How do we deal with crying girls, Noya?" Tanaka whispered to the libero.

"Why are you asking me? I don't know!" Nishinoya whisper-shouted back.

Sumire lifted her head. There were no tears in her eyes. Only a haze of confusion. "Kageyama, you are a grade A dumbass. Did you hit my violin with a magical ball or something?"

It was everyone's turn to be confused now.

"Eh?"

"Magical ball?"

"Where did the ball go? Maybe it'll grant me a wish."

"Don't be stupid, shrimp."

"What kind of ball is magical?"

Sumire chuckled dryly, leaning into Kageyama's embrace unknowingly. "I don't know what happened but that spike-serve definitely wasn't hard enough to break a violin like this. It's absolutely destroyed." She picked up a piece of it and examined it closely. "It's like someone used this as a club or something. This isn't my violin. It must have been broken before Kageyama served into it." She tapped her chin. "I wonder... if Naoko-nee knows anything about it. Also, Kageyama?"

The setter in question flinched away from her and stood up stiffly. "Yes?"

"You owe me  _two_ pork buns now."

* * *

**LINE: FIRST YEAR VOLLEYBALL SQUAD**

[Makoshima]: Why do I have a feeling that I'll regret this?

[Tsukishima]: Better question: Who invited you? It has FIRST YEAR and VOLLEYBALL SQUAD in the chat name if you haven't noticed.

[Makoshima]: Kageyama did. And if it's only for first years then why is Nishinoya here too?

[Tsukishima]: Because the administrator is an idiot. Either that or Nishinoya's mentality is equal to that of a first year in class one.

[Makoshima]: Ah.

[Kageyama]: who wants me to kick out the idiot in glasses say I?

[Nishinoya]: IIIIIIII

[Hinata]: I!

[Yamaguchi]: nothing personal but no...?

[Tsukishima]: Go ahead. Make my day, King.

[Makoshima]: ... 


	5. Demons

_If you're going to hit it, hit it until it breaks._

_\- Tooru Oikawa_

* * *

Sumire had intended to come back for lunch yesterday. She really did. But the offer of free pork buns had been too much for her. Naoko had exchanged a few terse words with her but otherwise left her to own devices.

So when Sumire walked into the kitchen to find Naoko eating cheap cereal dry from a bowl, she cleared her throat and sat opposite her.

"Naoko-nee," she began. "I'm sorry for yesterday. That was irresponsible of me." The words were so cold and mechanical that Sumire was shocked that they had come from her mouth.

"It's fine, Sumire. Just don't do it again." Naoko swallowed, taking a swig of water after swallowing. "Have you finished your homework?"

"Ah, no... not yet. I'll do it today."

"Okay." She put her bowl in the sink after eating her last spoonful of cornflakes. "Is there something you needed to talk about?"

"Yes."  _Just ask her. It's not that hard._ "I took the wrong violin case out yesterday. It wasn't my violin."

"That's ridiculous. You're the only one in this household who still owns a violin..." she trailed off. "Where did you find it?"

"I can't really remember. I was in a hurry and I just grabbed the first violin case shaped thing around."

"I see." Sumire watched, bewildered, as Naoko got out of her chair again, this time to walk one lap around the kitchen. Then another. "Nee-chan...?"

"Tadashi must have put it back in the wrong place," Naoko randomly declared. At his point, Sumire wasn't even sure if her big sister even registered her presence anymore. It was as if Naoko was trapped in her own little world.

Sumire made a point to speak up this time, "What does Tadashi-nii have to do with any of this? He doesn't play violin."

At last, Naoko finally paid attention to Sumire again. "Was the violin all broken up?"

"Huh? Yeah, but - "

"That used to be mine. I wanted to throw it out but... Tadashi insisted on me keeping it." She seemed troubled. "I guess you could say that it holds some meaning to him. I'll put it away on the top shelf later so it doesn't get mixed up again."

"Oh, okay. Is there any cereal left?"

"Nope, sorry. I'm about to go out and get donuts for you, though. They have a special offer on Sundays. You stay here in case Tadashi wakes up."

"... Okay."  _At least I have the guys to keep me company._ Her phone dinged.  _Speak of the devil._ Unlocking it, she said, "See you later, nee-chan. Stay safe."

"I will. Don't worry about me, Sumire-chan."

As she disappeared out the front door, Sumire couldn't help but grimace, even as she skimmed through Kageyama and Hinata's banter on their LINE chat group. "How do I  _not_ worry, nee-chan?"

* * *

"Donuts, donuts, donuts... and donuts." Humming a tune softly, she pushed open the door to the local eatery plaza.

An ambient jingle played through the PA as consumers ordered food from all sorts of stalls. There were tables set up in the centre, with men and women tapping away on their phones as they waited for their food to arrive.

"Ah, they have pizza too, today..."

Naoko winced as her stomach grumbled. There had only been a few spoonfuls of cereal left in the box and they had run out of milk. She had not had a very wholesome breakfast at all.

 _I have enough to get donuts for myself as well,_ she told herself, doing the math in her head.  _Sumire always tells me to eat more... maybe I should start taking her advice._

As Naoko contemplated on how to spend her money, a certain volleyball captain and his friends were sitting on one of the tables, talking amongst themselves. None of them had seen Naoko come in, which was understandable considering she was wearing a worn baseball cap that shadowed most of her face.

"Oh, what the heck," Naoko said to herself as she pulled out her wallet. "It won't hurt too much to indulge myself a little." Then she could use the rest for a more wholesome breakfast for Tadashi.

At Oikawa's table, the man himself clicked his tongue in annoyance when a new message pinged on his phone. "I don't believe this?"

"What?" Mattsun said, sipping on a soda. "Is it your crazy ex again?"

"Eyy!" Makki chimed in with a shit-eating grin, "I remember her. Wasn't she the one who stole your underwear every time you had sex? You didn't even know until she showed you a picture of your boxers pinned on her cork board."

Oikawa nearly choked on his drink. "I told you to never mention that!" He put his phone down. "And not that you'd help, but Izumi apparently got a tip off that we're here from none other than Emiko. She should be here in about a minute."

"Ah... well, good luck." They made a move to get up but Oikawa grabbed their sleeves and pulled them back into their seats.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me," he vowed solemnly.

"Goddammit, Oikawa."

"Eh, it was worth a try. At last my gravestone will say 'tried to escape'. So what are you going to do about Izumi? Talk to her?"

"Hope she goes away?"

"Scream rape?"

"None of those options are good," Oikawa grumbled, passing a hand through his hair. "What the hell is up with the last one, by the way?"

"It worked me for me."

"I worry about you, Makki."

"Hey," Mattsun said, pointing to where Naoko was standing in all her frumpy clothing glory. "Why don't you ask him if you can borrow his hat? If you hide your hair, Izumi might miss you."

"Eh? You want me to go a stranger and ask for his hat?" Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "What if he turns out to be a thug?"

"Then punch him," suggested Makki.

"In the balls," Mattsun added helpfully. "Though you might want to bend down if you do that."

"Shit, she's coming!" Oikawa glanced frantically at the bob of blonde through the glass windows and back at Naoko. With no time to waste, he grabbed the smaller person and took of the baseball cap.

"What the - " She elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to wince in pain. "Oikawa?! What the hell?!"

"No time to explain," he wheezed, putting the cap on his head, trying to get all of his brown locks beneath it. "Cover for me, please, Mako-chan!"

"Since I owe you one for yesterday, fine."

"Thank you! Izumi is crazy..."

"Wait,  _Izumi?_ " Naoko's eye twitched. "Bathroom. Now." Grabbing him by the sleeve, she led him to where the bathrooms were, hugging the wall. "Shit."  _Not her again...! Anyone but her!_

"Mako-chan?" Oikawa murmured in her ear. "If you're trying to hit on me, it's not working."

"Dumbass!" She kicked his shin. "Like I would ever do that. But Izumi and I... we have history. Or rather, she has history with Tadashi. I just paid the price."

Her words were dripping with a bitterness that made Oikawa think twice before responding. He peeked around the corner to see Izumi animatedly demanding answers from Makki and Mattsun of his whereabouts as the wheels turned in his head. He ducked back out of sight again before she could spot him.

"Well?" Naoko prompted. "Is she still here?"

"Unfortunately. We'll have to wait a bit longer, Mako-chan."

After grumbling a few curse words, Naoko fell silent, staring blankly at the wall opposite them. She didn't notice Oikawa nudging her with his arm until he spoke.

"Mako-chan?"

"Huh?"

"You're doing it again. I should call you oyster from now on."

"... Shut up, you dumb chihuahua."*

"Oyster-chan! So mean!"

"Dumb chihuahua! Your yapping hurts my ears." Naoko sighed, trying to keep her cool. This boy was working wonders on her temper, it wasn't a good thing.

After a few minutes, Oikawa spoke up once more.

"So, oyster-chan... what did Izumi do to you? She can be pretty nasty. She got suspended for leaving a dead bird in a girl's locker once."

Naoko scoffed. "Looks like she can't get away with everything then." She shot him a look. "And believe me, I know how mean she can get. A dead bird is nothing compared to what she did to..." she trailed off, her eyes glazing over.

"... Tadashi?" Oikawa guessed.

"... Are you a mind reader?"

"No, but I know you well enough to know that it had to be Tadashi," Oikawa stated. "Who else could it be? Mako-chan?"

The girl was trembling with anger, her nails digging into her palms as she curled her fists into tight balls. "I fucking hate her. I'm standing here with you right now because I think I'd be arrested if I tried to kill her again."

"Again?!" Oikawa inched away from her. "Geez, Mako-chan, what could she possibly do to make you so angry?"

"Trust me, you don't know the half of it." Her eyebrows remained knitted in a glare. "Tadashi and I... we went to Shiratorizawa Junior High. It was a real honor for us to be there as scholarship students. On Tadashi's graduation day... I was expelled."

"Wow, Mako-chan. You always struck me as an honor roll student." He looked at her curiously, hands in his pockets. "So serious all the time. What did you do to Izumi to get yourself expelled?"

"I tied her to a chair, beat her and shaved off all her hair. And then I slept with her boyfriend and her brother."

Oikawa froze, staring at her with wide eyes. "Sorry, what? I think I misheard you, Mako-chan."  _Mako-chan isn't a virgin?! How?! What?!_ The world didn't make sense anymore.

"... Don't make me repeat myself, dumb chihuahua. I only did it for revenge, so don't look at me like that. Such things don't really matter to me anyway."

More silence.

"When?"

"Fourteen, with her boyfriend." She gave him a sideways glance. "You?"

"Sixteen. With Izumi."

Naoko patted his back sympathetically. "I've never felt more sorry for another human being. Let alone you."

"You did it with her boyfriend," Oikawa pointed out. "You're no better, Mako-chan."

"I had reason to. You were just horny."

 _She has a point,_ Oikawa thought sardonically.

"Is she gone yet, Oikawa?"

He peeked again. When he turned back to her, his face was pale. "She's coming."

"What?!"

"Shh!"

Oikawa looked around frantically, but there was no way out. Not unless he dragged Naoko into the little men's room with him. And even then, he couldn't guarantee their security, considering Izumi's reputation of hooking up with guys in bathrooms. He was only lucky that he had been her first and vice versa. God knew how many bugs she had contracted at this point.

"I'm going to punch her if I see her," Naoko said flatly. "I've gone this far without a criminal record. The only reason she didn't press charges against me before was because I filmed the entire thing and threatened to post it online."

"You filmed yourself having sex with her boyfriend?!"

"Hah?! No, you dumbass, I meant the chair incident."

Izumi was now right around the corner. Oikawa had no other choice. Pulling his baseball cap down as far as it would go, he squashed Naoko against the wall in what had to be one of the most awkward kabe-dons in the century.

Naoko shouted against his chest as his much larger frame consumed hers. Frantically, he hoisted her upward and pressed his face close to hers, their noses brushing.

"What the fuck?" Naoko mouthed, a vein throbbing on the side of her head.

"You'll thank me later," he mouthed back, his eyes darting side to side to see if Izumi had passed yet.

Naoko chuckled quietly and brushed her mouth close to his ear. "If a person's physical wellbeing wasn't at stake right now, there would be no chance of any Oikawa juniors running around."

Oikawa nearly dropped her as he cringed. "Mako-chan!" he whisper-shouted. "Don't say things like that."

A perfume lingered in the area as Izumi swept by, humming a tune. She glanced at Oikawa and Naoko once before shrugging and and entering the female's bathroom.

Both of the students sighed in relief and Oikawa dropped Naoko. The girl shouted indignantly as she landed on her ass.

"Give me a warning next time, why don't you, asshole?" Naoko stood up and dusted her clothes off.

"Certainly. Volleyball is the safe word, got it?"

"... Shut up. I like it better when you don't yap."

"And you look like you're having an aneurysm from sheer stupidity when you space off, oyster-chan."

"Dumb chihuahua!" She whacked his arm. "I'd rather be an oyster than a dog like you."

"Really? Don't oysters get eaten though?"

"So? Dogs get eaten too."

Oikawa stared blankly at her. "Remind me not to get you a dog for Christmas, Mako-chan."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Bakawa."  _Volleyball is the safe word. Volleyball..._ "Are you in the volleyball club, Oikawa?"

"Of course! I'm the captain, actually." The brunet sweatdropped. "I can't believe you didn't know... I guess my fans aren't talking about me as much as they used to."

"Trust me, they do. I just don't pay attention to idle gossip with no merit."

"They do have merit!" Oikawa protested.

"But how am I supposed to know that?" Naoko brushed her bangs out of her face. "I'm sick and tired of rumours. I hate them. I've heard enough meaningless words for a lifetime." She went over to the donut store. "Goodbye, Oikawa. Maybe I'll see you later." Then she paused, smirking. "Are you fond of your sister?"

Before he could ask what she meant, she had picked up the donuts and exited the plaza.

Oikawa was left dumbfounded as he shuffled back to Mattsun and Makki, who immediately started bombarding him with questions about him surviving his encounter with Izumi.

_What does nee-chan have to do with anything? Does Mako-chan know her?_

* * *

A small boy yawned as Naoko walked into the lobby, carrying a sports bag. After feeding her family, she had recycled all the cans of soda Sumire liked to drink for enough money to buy a dozen eggs.

Naoko gave the boy a quick glance before continuing on her way. She had never seen him before, yet there was a way that he held himself that she felt extremely familiar with.

 _He reminds me someone I know..._ Oikawa's obnoxious smirk flashed through her mind.  _There we go. I can only hope that he doesn't act like Asskawa either._

"Takeru-kun!" A brunette appeared from the ladies' bathroom, wiping her wet hands off her sweatpants. "Thanks for waiting for me, Takeru-kun." She grinned and prodded her chest with her thumb. "Your kaa-san is going to kick some butt today!"

The boy called Takeru tilted his head sideways. "That's what you said last week, kaa-san, and Auntie Yoshida beat you."

The woman sweatdropped, laughing nervously. "Oh... you saw that, huh? In my defence, Yoshida-san is very strong."

"Uh huh..." Takeru stared up at his mother with a unimpressed look.

"Oikawa-san," Naoko called over to them. "I'll be pitting you against Yoshida-san again. Make sure you don't lose in front of your son!"

"Hah?! Mako-sensei, how could you?"

In a way, Oikawa Hotaru was very much like her brother, albeit a much more amiable version of him. Naoko was simply thankful that she wasn't a carbon copy of her little brother.

For one, she was less annoying.

_Thank god for that._

"I'll see you in the training room, Oikawa-san."

"Mako-sensei, you wouldn't..."

Even when she complained, she didn't rub Naoko the wrong way. When Oikawa complained, it took all the self control she had to not take off her shoe and throw it at him.

She didn't want to spend more money on new shoes, after all.

Naoko entered the change room and removed her clothes, swapping her bra for a crop top and her tee for a sleek sports singlet. As she got out of the room and into the training facility, tying her hair up, she was greeted by the sight of a dozen middle aged women (with Hotaru being the outlier) doing their stretches.

"Nice to see you warming up," she remarked, getting into her own stretching position. "Keep doing what you're doing for another five minutes." A small smile appeared on her face. "Then we can begin."

"Yes, Mako-sensei!" the women chorused.

As the women began their warm up exercises, Takeru looked on with a bored expression, seemingly unimpressed. But then his lips moved. "So cool..." He had not met many people her age that could command such respect from her elders. After all, he had grown up with Oikawa. It was like growing up with a fun uncle, except 'fun' should be swapped with 'irritating and immature'.

An hour later, when the lessons were over, Takeru got up and walked over to his mother, tugging her sleeves. "Kaa-san, I'm going to get ice cream. Is that alright?"

Hotaru Oikawa bit her lip, dabbing sweat off her brow with a hanky (Auntie Yoshida had beaten her again in a friendly spar).

"Well..." she trailed off, obviously hesitant despite the ice cream shop being right across the road.

"Please! Please, kaa-san?"

"Oh... alright then, just be careful when you cross the road, okay? And don't wander off anywhere else." She sifted through her purse and gave her son some money. "Here. I'll come pick you up after Mako-sensei dismisses us and you can give the change to me then."

"Okay, kaa-san." Takeru was already running away with the money, a grin on his face. "I'll be safe!"

As Takeru left, Naoko cleared her throat for attention, perspiration gleaming on her temples. "You've all done well today. I'm honestly surprised by how much you've all improved." She nodded to a stocky woman. "Yoshida-san, just last month you could not even perform a basic block. You've made some incredible progress."

"Thank you, Mako-sensei," said Yoshida, bowing her head in a show of respect, "for teaching me all I know."

All the ladies took turns thanking their defence teacher and filed out. In a matter of minutes, only Hotaru and Naoko were left.

"Mako-sensei," the brunette said, scrutinizing the tatami mats with narrowed eyes. "Have you by any chance seen my contact lens? It must have dropped out when Yoshida-san flipped me. Ah, wait! There it is."

Naoko looked on at the display in amusement. "Good for you then. I'll see you next week, Oikawa-san." She made a move to leave before pausing.  _Wait..._ "Where did Takeru-kun go?"

"Oh, I sent him to get ice cream," Hotaru said distractedly, busy cleaning her contact lens with saline. "It's just across the street so he'll be fine. Now go in, you little prick..." she muttered to her lens.

"If you say so."  _Knowing how troublesome the Oikawas are I should probably go check up on the kid._ Naoko scoffed to herself.  _He'd better not be stuck in a tree or anything._

* * *

Takeru yelped as he was pushed to the ground by a much bigger teenager. His ice cream lay melting on the dirt floor but that wasn't exactly the boy's main concern.

"Come on," one of the bullies, a girl, jeered. "Just give us the money kid, and we won't hurt you."

"Much," a boy added maliciously.

"Idiots!" Takeru said shakily, taking a leaf out of his uncle's book. "What kind of person steals from a kid? Your faces are stupid!"

"What did you say?!" A boy with dyed hair grabbed Takeru by the shirt and lifted him up. "You fucking brat!"

The girl laughed cruelly at the situation. "Damn, this kid's got spunk. Teach him a lesson, Taro-kun. Then maybe he'll think twice before opening his mouth."

"You know, I was going to leave you alone if you just gave us the money. Maybe rough you up a little but that was all. Now I'm done playing nice!"

Taro grew him onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust flying up into the air. "Prepare to meet your worse nightmare, cunt."

"Kaa-san!" Takeru shouted fearfully, his eyes wide. But there was no answer. No help would arrive for the boy.

"Aw, would you look at that, he's calling for his mommy," the girl taunted, flipping her red hair back.

"Pathetic." Taro aimed a kick at the boy, who was trying to lift himself from the ground. "Get up, you worm, and face me like a real man!"

"Real men don't attack small children, motherfucker."

And then Taro received a flying kick to his face. A black, unforgiving demon loomed over him. The red haired girl screamed as Taro hit the dirt with a thump.

"Mako-sensei...?" Takeru managed to murmur before his vision started to black.

* * *

_"Hey, what'cha doin', freak? Humping trees again?"_

_"N-no, I swear - "_

_Tadashi was faced with five boys and two girls holding sticks. Each radiated malicious intent as they stared down the blonde boy, their eyes cold and mocking. The boy, sweating as he confronted his bullies (or rather, they confronted him), tried to hold his head up high. But he simply didn't have enough strength to do so. He was lost. Defeated._

_It was ironic, really, how the White Monster was brought down by the same kids he used to terrorize in grade school. Kids with sticks as clubs._

_If you want to defeat a monster, you take its club. And then you hit it until it breaks._

_"Shut up, you homosexual freak," one of the girls snarled, pointing her stick threateningly at him. "We don't accept your kind around here!"_

_"Izumi's right! No one wants you here! Why don't you just die, huh, fag?"_

_Someone hit him across the face. He let them._

_And then it began._

_Tadashi was pushed to the ground, into a place and position that he'd become well acquainted with by now._

_Sharp sticks flogged his exposed skin (for it was summer and he was wearing a tee) as the children beat him as hard as they could with their improvised weapons, carrying a fury of twisted righteousness in their hits._

_Then someone punched his nose. Blood dripped from the wound as the beating went on. And on._

_It lasted only about five minutes when she appeared again. With a hateful fury greater than that of Tadashi's tormentors, Naoko jumped into the fray, kicking and hitting with precise precision, one that could have only been developed after years training in the martial arts._

_She snapped their sticks and punched them between the eyes, effectively scaring them off. All of them but one._

_With a scream of rage, Izumi thrust her stick at Tadashi in what could possibly be considered as a preteen's version of a kamikaze attack._

_The appendage pierced his eye._

_Ah._

* * *

"... Mako-sensei! Mako-sensei!" Naoko was jerked backward and back into reality by Hotaru, who regarded her with wide eyes. "Mako-san, that's enough," she said, looking shocked. "You're going to kill him!"

Taro coughed and spluttered as he tried to pick himself up from the floor.

_Wha... What? I did that?_

Takeru had awoken and was hugging his mother's leg, shying away from the gruesome display. Taro would definitely not be picking up any girls for a while. While the rest of his body had not sustained much injury, his face was growing purple and swollen. Tomorrow, both of his eyes would be black.

"Fuck!" he shouted, tears of pain leaking through his eyelids. "Fuck, it hurts! Fucking bitch!"

"Is that all you know how to say?" Naoko hissed in response. "In that case, you're a fucking bastard." Then she kicked him in the balls. Not hard enough to leave any lasting damage, but it was definitely painful. "You coward. If it's anything I hate, it's cowards like you. You're  _scum,_ asshole! Fucking  _scum!_ "

"Mako-san, please!" Hotaru intervened, pulling Naoko back. "Calm down, please, Mako-sensei..."

Naoko glared hatefully at Taro one last time before turning away, letting Hotaru crouch beside the fallen teenager.

"You are not to press charges," Hotaru said firmly, scowling at him. "I'll have you know that I'm one of the top lawyers in the country. If you take this to court, you will lose, I guarantee you."

"Fuck off!"

"It was nice doing business with you." He swung at her. She blocked it. "And one more thing. Don't  _ever_ touch my son again, bastard."

Taro's response was incoherent, having sustained some broken teeth. The blood was now getting sticker in his mouth.

Hotaru stood up. "It would be a shame if you were to get mugged again today," she said absently, as if she were talking about the weather. "Be more careful. And tell your lady friend about it too. You know, the one that ran away? Wouldn't want her to be mugged either now, would we?" With her shoulders squared and her head held high, she marched back to where Naoko and Takeru were standing.

"Thank you," the former said, avoiding eye contact. "You handled that better than I could."

"That's alright, Mako-san. We all have our gifts in certain areas. Mine is words."

_Yeah, and I thought being calm and level headed was my gift. But I guess some things are just too unpleasant, even for me._

* * *

"Sumire? You're early."

"Kororo-sensei was particularly lenient today."

Sumire sat on the edge of her sister's bed as the latter typed up an essay on her laptop, a pair of blue rimmed glasses sitting on her nose. Naoko glanced up from her screen once or twice as she spoke.

"What piece are you learning now?"

"Oh, nothing much... nothing interesting anyway. It's same old same old with classical music." Sumire fiddled with her headphones, her eyes moving up to the ceiling. "Hey, nee-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"When was the last time you visited obaa-chan?"

Naoko's brows knitted together in a small frown as she tore her gaze from her laptop. After clicking a few keys to save her work, she closed her device. "...About two months ago."

"I see." A pause. "She told me to tell you that she loves you and misses you. You should visit her again soon, Naoko-nee."

"I will," Naoko said, her voice strained. "In due time. But for now, I have other things to focus on. There are bills to pay. The fortune our parents left us won't last forever. Obaa-chan's treatment is already taking out a sizeable amount of money. Do you understand, Sumire-chan?"

"Yes," she said, trying to keep the resigned tone from her voice. "I understand."

Naoko sighed in relief, giving her a small smile. "Then I'm glad we're on the same page."

"... Me too, nee-chan."  _Sorry, obaa-chan._

* * *

Takeru scowled as Oikawa gave his head a rub, grinning as if he was without a care in the world.

"If it isn't my favorite nephew, Take-chan! Have you been treating your kaa-san well?"

"Yeah, yeah... and don't do that." Takeru grumbled irritably and smacked Oikawa's hand away. "It's embarrassing."

"But I'm your favorite uncle, Take-chan."

"You're my  _only_ uncle, idiot."

Oikawa pouted, standing up to his full height in a vain attempt to intimidate Takeru. "Hey, respect your elders~"

"... What's there to respect?"

"I hope he isn't giving you too much trouble," Hotaru said as she emerged from the kitchen holding a tray of juicy, sliced watermelon.

Oikawa greedily reached out and took one, biting into it.  _So good! Iwa-chan would be so jealous._ "He's been fine," he said to his sister, finishing the watermelon slice in a few bites.

"I was talking to Takeru-kun," Hotaru said pointedly, making Oikawa sweatdrop indignantly and take on a miffed expression.

Takeru snickered and pulled a face at his uncle, who, gasping, proceeded to make a face of his own back at his nephew.

"He's been fine," Takeru said mockingly, doing an imitation of Oikawa's voice. "Blah, blah, blah, I'm an idiot!"

"Hey! I don't sound like that! And you're the idiot! Only idiots say that! Idiot! Idiot!" Oikawa pinched his cheeks and the smaller boy shrieked indignantly, pinching Oikawa's own cheeks in retaliation.

"Be careful," Hotaru chided, sitting down on the ottoman and nibbling on her watermelon. "Takeru, if anything hurts, just call out."

"My eyes hurt from looking at Tooru," Takeru snarked.

"I don't know how you mistook 'hurt' for 'are tearing up at Tooru's stupefying beauty'. You need to improve on your Japanese, Take-chan. Seriously, though, nee-chan, why would Takeru get hurt from that? I don't play too rough with him."

"There is no playing," Takeru interjected, "just him annoying me."

"There's a bruise on his neck," Oikawa said simply to Hotaru, his eyes narrowed. "I saw it when I came in. Hotaru-chan, what happened?"

Hotaru nervously chewed her watermelon before swallowing. "You see... Takeru got jumped by a delinquent. Thankfully, my self defence instructor saved him."

 _Well, fuck._ "When did this happen?" His voice was cold. Hard.

"A little over two hours ago. Honestly, I'm just grateful that Takeru-kun wasn't hurt too bad... I really owe Mako-san one."

_Hah?! Mako-san? Like Mako-chan?_

"I'm right here, you know," Takeru said loudly. "Don't talk as if I'm not in the room."

But Oikawa was no longer listening. Instead, he was contemplating on how he could repay the girl. Not to mention that his quest for revenge against her brother was still active.

Shit just got a teensy bit more complicated.

* * *

_**A/N: Indeed it has.** _

_**I've used Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!'s insult for Ami Kawashima (dumb chihuahua) and will be using it a lot in the future so prepare yourselves. I wasn't even going to use it until I realized how much Oikawa reminded me a dog that constantly demands attention.** _

**_So there you have it._ **


	6. Breaking

_I miss you sometimes. We all do. Even when she says she doesn't have time to care, she still misses you. Despite her hard exterior, Naoko-nee has a really big heart. It just makes it all the harder for the bruises to heal._

_\- Sumire Makoshima to unknown_

* * *

_Don't make eye contact. Keep your shoulders squared and your back straight. Don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself; not in class; not in the hallways; not anywhere._

_Be invisible._

With a slow gait, Tadashi and Naoko approached the gates of Aobajosai, the latter occasionally flashing concerned glances at the former. They walked into the school building in comfortable silence. Small talk was unnecessary in their relationship.

_Don't make eye contact._

He caught the gaze of a few gossiping girls.

_I said don't make eye contact._

They averted their eyes from him. All but one.

The big blue eyes of a vicious demon fixed her gaze on him. Even as he passed her, he could feel her irises burning the back of his head.

"If she tries anything, she's dead," Naoko murmured loud enough for only Tadashi to here her. She looked up at him. "You hear me, Tadashi? I won't let Izumi get away if she tries to hurt you."

He did not respond.

So Naoko pulled out the sheet of listed clubs from the folder she carried in the crook of one arm. She scanned them once, then twice, then handed them over to Tadashi. "The school is getting impatient, nii-san," she said with a hint of worry in her voice. "Club activities count as a class. All we've done so far is help the teachers by doing odd jobs. Inoue-sensei is putting pressure on me to decide. How is Sato-sensei treating you?"

"He's been asking," Tadashi admitted. "I'm certain he's going to make me choose today, whether I've decided on anything or not."

"We can talk more about this over lunch," Naoko decided just as the bell rang. "I'll see you later, nii-san. Stay safe, okay?"

"Okay."

As Naoko disappeared into the crowd fluidly, Tadashi trudged up the flight of stairs leading up to the third year classrooms, praying that he wouldn't run into anyone unpleasant. Thankfully, Izumi had gone the other direction and he would be safe in his classroom before she would go to her own.

 _Izumi... I can't believe she's here._ He flinched as someone brushed past him on his blind side, wincing when he heard them turn their head to look at him strangely. Suddenly, he felt the stick embedded into his eye socket all over again. Tadashi hoisted his shoulder strap and shivered, resisting the urge to pat his unseeing eye. It was a miracle that he had not had to get it surgically removed.

When Naoko had caught him trying to spoon out his own eye, she ended up locking up all the cutlery for a year. Even now, she always gave him a look when he took out any eating utensil from the kitchen drawers.

Tadashi's phone buzzed in his pocket and he stopped in front of his classroom, figuring he could spare a few seconds to check his messages. He knew that they were either from Naoko, Sumire or Dr. Hamilton, the American therapist that had moved to Japan a few years ago start up his own practice in Miyagi. Sure enough, it was from Dr. Hamilton.

 _Tadashi-san,_ it read,  _Could you and Naoko-san please drop by my office after school today? It doesn't matter what time - I'm available all day. It would also be good if Sumire-san could come as well. It's been a while since you all last saw me and I would like to discuss whatever matters you have. Regards, Dr. Hamilton._

Tucking his phone back into his pocket after switching it off, he entered the classroom, where students were lumped together in groups talking about their own business (or someone else's). Unsurprisingly, Oikawa was surrounded by girls of all shapes and sizes, each of them with a blushing, lovesick look on their faces.

Tadashi couldn't blame them really. That Oikawa sure was hot. Yes, Tadashi decided, Oikawa was  _pretty fucking hot._ Appearance-wise anyway. Tadashi didn't know him well enough to make any final decisions about his character.

"Emiko-san told me that Izumi tried to stalk you again on the weekend," a girl ( _Her name was Anzu, right?_ thought Tadashi) was sitting on her desk, her skirt hiked up past her thighs. To Oikawa's credit, his eyes were fixed firmly on her face and not anywhere else. "She didn't do anything, did she?"

The girls stared at Oikawa in anticipation.

"Thankfully not," Oikawa said, injecting just the right amount of relief and charm into his voice. "But go easy on Izumi-san, won't you, girls? Izumi-san hasn't been very good to me, but don't go around being mean to her, alright?"

"O-okay, Oikawa-san!"

"Sure thing, Oikawa-san!"

"Can we watch you practice again, Oikawa-san?"

"Sorry!" Oikawa exclaimed, looking saddened. "But coach gave me quite a scolding last time you lovely girls came to watch. I wouldn't want that to happen again... would you?"

"Oh no, of course not!"

"Such a shame! Coach is so mean."

"I'm so sorry you got into trouble, Oikawa-san!"

"Thanks for understanding," Oikawa said, flashing them a grin that made them all swoon.

"Kyaah!" one girl burst out, her twin tails swaying as she bounced up and down. "Please sit with us at lunch, Oikawa-san!"

"Ooh, yes, please!"

"I made you chocolates!"

"I made you a cake! It's strawberry flavored!"

But, to their dismay, Oikawa declined their offer, stating that he was going to sit with some new friends he had made last week. Tadashi glanced up at him in surprise. He meant Naoko and him right? Who else could the brunet be referring to? Almost as if there was a cue, Oikawa moved toward Tadashi and hooked his arm around his neck in a friendly manner.

"This is Dashi-chan!" Oikawa said cheerily. "He's my new friend, you see?"

"Oh!" one girl exclaimed, nodding in understanding. "Oikawa-san is trying to be nice to the new kid."

"You're right!"

"Oikawa-san is so nice."

"He deserves a bento from me."

"I want to make him a bento too."

"Me too!"

Just then, the Sato-sensei entered, and everyone instantly stopped talking and moved to their seats, sitting up straight. When the Class Representative stood up, so did the rest of the class, bowing to the teacher.

"Good morning, Sato-sensei!"

"Ahem. Yes, good morning, class."

They all sat as if they were one entity, with the Class Representative leading once again.

As the lesson began, Oikawa turned back to where Tadashi was sitting. "Hello, Dashi-chan," he smiled. "You don't mind if I sit with you and Mako-chan again, do you? And I'm sure Iwa-chan would like to join as well."

 _Huh? He... He's asking me...?_ He tried not to look too panicked.  _Quick...! What would Naoko do?_ Say no and tell him to bug off, most likely. But Tadashi couldn't do that! So he turned to his other sister for help.  _What would Sumire do?_ Probably ignore him and keep listening to her RADWIMPS album. Tadashi resisted the urge to bash his head on the table. Though he appeared to be quiet and shy (and he undoubtedly were those two things), one thing was for sure: Tadashi Makoshima was incredibly weak for attractive people.

And it just so happened Oikawa transcended the mortal level of attractiveness, though Tadashi would never say that aloud. Oikawa's head would explode from an overflow of ego and Naoko would look at him funny.

"Suh-s-sure..."

"Great!"

"Hey, quiet back there," Sato barked, narrowing his keen eyes on Oikawa and Tadashi. "No more talking or I'll send you two to the principal."

"Sorry, Sato-sensei," Oikawa apologized for the both of them.

As their teacher turned back to writing notes on the board, Oikawa winked at Tadashi before returning to copying down whatever Sato was scribbling.

* * *

"Do you want to head down to the fountain to eat?"

"Sure."

As the last two remaining girls abandoned the classroom in favor of eating at a more scenic area, Naoko packed up her things and left her bag hanging on her chair, taking out her bento. The keys to the rooftop were currently safe and sound in her pocket. But not all was well.

Mainly because Sumire had rented a bike for a week yesterday and was now cycling over to Aobajosai to eat lunch with her and Tadashi if the texts she got from her little sister were any indication.

She loved Sumire, but the girl could be so irresponsible at times. She should have stayed at Kitagawa Daiichi. But it was too late to dissuade her now - Sumire had just sent her a text announcing that she had just arrived and was parking her bike.

_Great. I just hope she doesn't arouse too much attention._

Was that too much to ask? Probably, since the students of Aobajosai seemed determined to stick to whatever novelty there was like flies to honey.

As she dodged the crowd, she texted Sumire back.  _Meet me at the rooftop. I'll leave the door ajar for you._ As she sent the message, she wondered if it was a good idea to just let Sumire walk all the way to the roof by herself. What if she got lost? No, Naoko couldn't think like that.

_If she can find her way to Karasuno High using Kageyama's vague as hell descriptions, she'll be able to find me. Hopefully. I think._

"Oh good, you're still here," Naoko said by way of greeting as she saw Tadashi standing awkwardly by his classroom. "Are you ready to go?"

He fidgeted nervously. Naoko raised a brow.

"Is there something wrong, Tadashi-nii?"

Tadashi bit his lip. "Uh... ah, about that... IkindainvitedOikawaforlunchwithustoday."

"... Pardon? Was that even Japanese, Tadashi-nii?"

He hesitated. "I said that I invited - "

"Yoohoo~" Oikawa's head popped out of the classroom. "It's good to see you again, Mako-chan!"

_Ah._

"You invited Oikawa-san?"

"S-sorry..."

The teen in question pouted. "Hey! I'm right here, you guys."

"I know," Naoko replied casually. "And I don't really care. Knowing you, you probably invited yourself and Tadashi just let you."

"Damn, you're good." Iwaizumi's voice rang through the hallway as he joined them. "That's exactly what happened. And now he's dragging me into it. Again."

"Eh?! Iwa-chan, we're friends! I don't drag you anywhere."

Everyone, with the exception of Tadashi, who just looked at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, deadpanned at Oikawa.

"You're relationship is weird," Naoko said bluntly, shifting her gaze to Iwaizumi. "Why do you even put up with him?"

"Why do you?" Iwaizumi countered.

"True." She checked her phone. "If you're going to come with us, then we might as well leave now. Sumire just texted me saying she thinks she's on the wrong building and can't open the door."

Only Tadashi reacted without confusion as they started to walk. "Why is Sumire here? Isn't she at school?"

"That's right!" Oikawa suddenly exclaimed, his eyes brightening. "That's your sister right, Mako-chan?"

Naoko blinked at him in surprise. "You remembered."

"Of course I did. How could I forget?"

"Idiot," Iwaizumi scolded. "You did forget. You just happened to remember just then."

"Mean, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa turned to Naoko again. "Do I earn any friendship points?"

"Yeah. You're now on minus one hundred points. Congratulations."

"Hah? Where did all my points go?"

Naoko nearly halted at his words but forced her legs to keep moving forward.  _Dumbass! He doesn't remember?_ Oikawa's soft, sensual voice rang through her mind and she stiffened.  _... I'm not going to remind him._

"Dumb chihuahua," she said simply, not looking at him.

Iwaizumi snorted with laughter. "She's got you there. Chihuahua... hah!"

Oikawa sniffed. "I'm more like a Pomeranian. Fluffy and cute."

Iwaizumi barked another laugh, making Oikawa look at him with dismay. But that was only passing and he glanced over at Naoko with a glint in his eye. She held his gaze.

 _He remembers,_ she realized, frowning at his smug face.  _Of course he does. Of all the things to remember it had to be that..._ The unexpected kabe-don from yesterday was recalled.  _... Never mind, it could be worse._

"Your mouth is annoying when open," she said smoothly, making an allusion to what he had said before. "I don't care how many things you can do with it. Just don't talk, and we'll get along."

"Really now, oyster-chan? You haven't even seen what I can do yet."

"What the fuck," Iwaizumi deadpanned, glancing between the two of them. "What the actual fuck am I witnessing right now."

Even Tadashi was looking at his sister with wide eyes. Were they... what...? What were they doing? Flirting? No, that wasn't how flirting worked. This little display was just... odd.  _Oyster-chan? Huh? What does that even mean?_

"Ah, nothing, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said, reverting back to his normal self. "Oyster-chan was trying to be cute, that's all." He moved his hand down to ruffle her hair but she slapped the appendage away.

"Don't touch me," she muttered, looking ahead at the rooftop door. "Now hurry up before I shut the door in your faces. Not you, Tadashi," she added as an afterthought.

Nobody spoke as she rummaged in her pocket for the keys. Just as she fished them out, she realized something. "Where's Sumire?"

Suddenly, the door opened from the outside and the girl in question greeted them with an impassive expression on her face, one that was eerily similar to Naoko's. The girl, dressed in a sailor uniform, cocked her head to one side in questioning.

"What took you so long, nee-chan?"

Naoko answered her question with another question. "How did you get in?"

"I picked the lock. I looked it up on the internet once." She stood aside, letting them come through.

"You must be Sumire-chan," Oikawa greeted, giving her one of his lady-killing smiles. "It's nice to meet you! You can call me Tooru-nii if you want."

Sumire hardly even looked at him. "No thanks."

Naoko smirked.

Iwaizumi stifled a laugh.

Tadashi looked at the ground again.

"It's finally good to meet more people with sense," Iwaizumi remarked as they all sat down in a circle with their bentos. "You're Sumire-san...?"

"Yeah." Sumire opened her lunchbox, revealing some rice and pork. "What's your name?"

"Iwaizumi Hajime."

"Nice to meet you."

Oikawa nearly spluttered. He gave Iwaizumi a sneaking glance. "I can't be blamed. I guess she's into the rude, brooding types."

"Shut up, Trashykawa!" Iwaizumi gave his best friend a hard whack, making him cradle his head and glare through eyes of crocodile tears.

"So mean, Iwa-chan!"

As they ate, Naoko scrutinized her little sister.  _Her tie is crooked._ She said as much and Sumire obediently undid the sailor ribbon and redid it again; this time the result was that it was much neater than it had been before. Naoko nodded in approval.

"I hope you make it back to your next class on time," she said, frowning at Sumire. "And I hope your club doesn't have any kind of practice going on."

Oikawa listened into the conversation, pretending to be engrossed in eating his food.  _Practice... is she in a sporting club? Volleyball, maybe?_ That would certainly be interesting.

"Practice?" Sumire looked confused, the vegetables, halfway to her mouth, dropping back into her lunchbox as her chopsticks loosened. "What are you talking about, nee-chan? The music club doesn't practice during lunchtimes."

Instantly, Naoko's face burned.  _She's in the music club! Of course! How did I not know that?!_ "R-right. My mistake."  _I thought she was in the volleyball club._ She then remembered that Sumire had said.  _No, wait, she played in elementary, not now._ She suppressed a sigh, trying to distract herself by digging into her food.

"What instrument do you play?" Iwaizumi asked Sumire, noticing the tense air that had suddenly formed between her and Naoko.

"Violin," Naoko and Sumire answered at the same time.

The atmosphere grew even more awkward and Iwaizumi had to give them props for maintaining their cool, inexpressive masks.

There were a few minor differences, but otherwise they looked very similar. Like how Naoko's dull eyes did not flash an alluring blue in the sunlight like Sumire's did.

"I've been doing it since I was little," Sumire elaborated gruffly, slamming her chopsticks back into her bento to scoop up more rice. A small display of agitation.

"You don't seem happy about it," Oikawa commented, his eyes scanning for the middle schooler's reaction.

"I am happy." The words came out a tad too quickly. Even Tadashi, who seemed to be fixated on floors today, snapped his head up.

"She is happy," Naoko affirmed. "We're all happy... as we can be." She fell silent, letting Sumire take the reigns of the conversation.

"Violin is one of my greatest passions," Sumire insisted, tapping the violin case that sat next to her. "So don't ever insinuate otherwise. I just - " She cut herself off, growing tight lipped. "Nothing."

Oikawa glanced at Sumire, then at Naoko. It was time for this conversation to end. But the topic was intriguing for Oikawa, who had no experience with any kind of instrument. Well, there was a mandatory class band in grade school where he played the triangle, but he didn't think that counted.

Not when the grade school class band were no better than a bunch of uncivilised apes given recorders and tambourines and whatnot.

He snickered, effectively gaining their attention. "You know, Sumire-chan, I would love to hear you play."

"Chan?" Sumire said, confused. "We've literally only known each other for about fifteen minutes. What's up with the honorific?"

Iwaizumi cut in this time. "Because he's an idiot who doesn't know how to respect boundaries."

"Ah."

Oikawa clapped his hands together and bowed slightly to her. "Please play for me! Maybe then the violin ghost will appear."

"Not this again," Iwaizumi muttered. "For god's sake, are you still harping on about that?"

"I'm not going to play," Sumire said, lifting her headphones to her ears. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't particularly like performing in front of strangers."

"It's fine, you didn't have to," Iwaizumi reassured her.

"Eh? Why not?" Oikawa asked at the same time.

"Shut up," Naoko finally spoke up again, glaring at the brunet. "Don't stick your nose into her business like that."

Surprisingly, Oikawa backed off. Kind of. "Fine, fine, oyster-chan... but don't you want to see the ghost too?"

"Ghosts don't exist. You're being ridiculous."

Sumire sighed and poked Naoko's arm with her chopsticks. "Just play for him, Naoko-nee... I don't think he'll let it go otherwise. I'll let you borrow my violin."

"Oho~" Oikawa smirked. "So Mako-chan plays violin too, huh? I can't wait to hear."

Reluctantly, Naoko put down her bento and accepted the violin when Sumire unlocked the case and gave the precious instrument to her.

"Ghosts don't exist," Naoko reiterated.  _Yes they do. They just don't come out in the day._ "if you haven't figured it out by now, it was me the whole time. Dumb chihuahua."

"If you say so, oyster-chan." The devious gleam in Oikawa's eye told her that he likely knew all along on some level.

Hesitantly, Naoko stood up, feeling more comfortable in an upright position. Then, experimentally, she drew the bow over the strings, creating a long, wavering note. She froze. And then unfroze, fixing her grip and stroking her left set of fingers over the strings as she held it.

She was getting used to it. Exploring its every nook and cranny.

Oikawa watched her do so. Right now, he really did wish he was that violin -

Now  _that_ was certainly an unnecessary and unwelcome thought, especially considering he was quite certain that he didn't feel that way about her. She could be a cold bitch, he had to admit, and her emotional intelligence left much to be desired.

He wondered what could have happened to make her act that way. She had mentioned to him that the Makoshima parents were dead. But she had done it so casually that, had he not heard her loud and clear, he was sure he would not have registered it. There was no attachment to be heard when she said those words.

Either she had never loved them or...

She had had plenty of years to grow up and get over it.

Oikawa was opting on the latter.

The music started as Naoko drew the bow across the strings with great expertise. Sumire's violin fit perfectly against her frame, as if it had been made for her at not the actual owner.

Oikawa could not recognise the song, being a not very avid listener of any kind of music. While children today were interested in the latest thing in pop culture, Oikawa had been a total sucker for aliens and all things space related.

And volleyball, of course.

When Naoko finished, she did not bow to any round of applause. She simply returned the instrument back to Sumire, sat down, and continued to eat her lunch.

"That was amazing," Iwaizumi offered, again making note of that awkward tension that seemed to be refusing to diffuse.

"Thank you," Naoko said through a mouthful of pork. "But it would sound better if I still had my old violin."

"Oh. What happened?"

If Oikawa hadn't been looking, he would have definitely missed Naoko's gaze shifting to Tadashi for a split second.

Naoko swallowed her food before answering. "Nothing. It just broke one day."


	7. Drama!

_I knew you were mine. You said you were mine. I thought you were mine._

_\- Phillipa Soo/Eliza Hamilton, "Burn"_

* * *

After finishing her bento, Naoko pulled up the sheet of clubs out and began to look over it once again. There were pen marks running all over the page, crossing out certain clubs like the cooking club.

"Haven't you picked a club yet?" Iwaizumi asked, noticing how intensely she regarded the piece of paper.

"No," Naoko replied without lifting her gaze. "My teacher has given me up until the end of the day to decide." She handed the paper to Tadashi. "Here. Personally, I think you'd do well in the literature club."

 _She's letting him decide,_ Oikawa noted, eating the last bite of his lunch.  _Of course she is. I wonder..._ "What about the volleyball club?"

Iwaizumi gave him a warning glance but added, "It's up for consideration too. You should choose it if you're interested."

Almost at once, Tadashi's eyes gleamed with hope. But the light in his irises disappeared when Naoko spoke.

"Maybe," she said uncertainly. "If things work out that way... it's all up to Tadashi. It's best if we decide now. Please, Tadashi-nii?"

"Well..."

"Tadashi-nii," Sumire spoke up, garnering all the attention. Though she didn't seem like the type to flourish under attention, she ploughed on. "If you're passionate about something, then go for it. If you don't..." She glanced at her violin. "You'll end up regretting it more."

"I don't have a passion," Tadashi confessed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not good at anything..."

"Sometimes, passion has to be found by working hard at something," Naoko pointed out. She sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... if you want to play volleyball again, then do it."

"We'll introduce you to everyone," Iwaizumi offered. "You won't feel out of place." He turned to Oikawa, who had this pensive expression on his face. "Right, Oikawa?"

"Hmm?" The brunet seemed to be snapped out of a daze. "Oh, right. Of course, Dashi-chan."

"I..." Tadashi swallowed, the words stuck in his throat. "Okay."

Naoko started nodding. "Then it's decided. We're both joining the volleyball club."

Nobody spoke. In fact, they all stared at her, even Sumire.

"Ah, about that," Oikawa began slowly. "Tadashi will be joining the  _boy's_ volleyball club."

Silence. Then;

"So? Can't I join as a manager or something?"

"The coach doesn't want any female managers," Iwaizumi explained rather callously. "We used to have female managers trialling but..." He gave Oikawa a withering stare. "They only came for one reason."

"Not my fault," Oikawa defended. "I can't help it if I'm popular, can I?"

"Judging from what I've heard so far, you encourage them," Naoko said, raising an eyebrow. "So you're not exactly innocent either, dumb chihuahua."

"She's got you there," Iwaizumi said unhelpfully.

"Rude! All of you are so rude."

Naoko gave Tadashi a longing stare, as if she were afraid of being separated with him for too long. Then she bowed her head. "Don't let me influence your decision, Tadashi-kun. Do volleyball. I'll find another club." She looked up at where Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sitting. "Treat him well."

"Of course."

"Yay! Dashi-chan's joining the team."

At that, Iwaizumi shot him a look, one that Naoko could not really decipher. Was it guilt? It seemed an awful lot like guilt but Naoko didn't know what the boy had to be guilty about.

"I should be getting back to school," Sumire announced, standing up and picking up her bag and violin. "I'll see you at Hamilton-san's."

Ah, yes, the group meeting Dr. Hamilton requested. He had sent all of them an individual text explaining his intentions. It had not slipped Naoko's mind, and she had already called up Umeko saying that she couldn't make it to her shift due to club activities and the appointment.

The woman had been understanding, something that Naoko was grateful for.

Naoko took the list of clubs back from Tadashi, who was now striking up a conversation with Iwaizumi and Oikawa about how Aobajosai's volleyball team worked (or rather, they struck up a conversation with him).

_Now that volleyball's out of the question... what should I choose?_

* * *

"Inoue-sensei?"

The teacher in question looked up from his desk, his glasses nearly slipping off his nose. "Oh, hello, Makoshima-san. Have you decided what club you want to join?"

"Yes," Naoko replied, clutching tightly the list of clubs in her hand, crinkling the paper with her grip. "I've decided to join the martial arts club."

Surprise flashed on Inoue's face before he nodded. He typed a few things on his computer before pausing. "Ah, about that... applications have already closed. It closed last Thursday. So have most of the other clubs. The only ones left are the cooking club, the drama club and the swimming club. Of course, there's also the boy's volleyball club but, obviously, you won't be able to join."

"... Oh."

"You should have picked earlier," Inoue scolded. "Now you've only got three choices left. You should not leave things to the last minute."

"Yes, sensei."  _It wasn't my fault._ She felt a spike of irritation at Tadashi but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came. It wasn't Tadashi's fault. He was right to be wary of the volleyball club and consider his options carefully.  _... I guess it is my fault then. Figures._

Inoue handed her three application forms, one for each club he had listed. "Here. Choose now."

Naoko stared at the forms. None of those clubs appealed to her. Cooking was certainly out of the question. She found absolutely zero enjoyment in cooking, and only did it to feed her family.

Swimming... she was never fond of getting wet if she didn't have to. She supposed that, in a way, Oikawa was right - she was rather like a cat.

Not that she would ever admit that to him. She'd never hear the end of it from him. Always running his stupid, annoying mouth...

"I'd like to join the drama club," Naoko said, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.

"Excellent choice. The drama club has always been low on members, which is why it's open all year round. Fill out the form and give it to Tachibana-sensei." Inoue motioned to where a young brunette with an ahoge was sitting, twirling her pen in her long, slender fingers. There were a pair of red rimmed glasses perched her her nose.

Nodding silently, Naoko did as she was told, standing by Tachibana for a few seconds before clearing her throat, forcing the brunette to acknowledge her.

"Oh!" Tachibana grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I tend to space out a lot, you see. I was trying to decide what we should do this year for our annual Culture Day performance. Gah, I'm getting off topic again. Did you need something?"

Naoko sweatdropped at the teacher's eccentricity. "Ah, yes..." She handed the teacher her application form. "I would like to join the drama club. If you'll have me," she added as an afterthought.

Tachibana looked over the form once before glancing up at the girl's impassive face. After about a minute of staring, Naoko began to get slightly uncomfortable.

"Tachibana-sensei - "

"You're in," Tachibana declared, pushing her glasses up. "Our club meeting starts now, actually. Come with me, I'll show you to the club room."

"Thank you."

Tachibana blinked curiously at Naoko's lack of enthusiasm. Did she or did she not want to join the drama club? The students in the club seemed to be polar opposites with this girl. Maybe she was just shy. Yeah, that had to be it. No matter; Tachibana would get her to open up to her new club mates.

When they arrived at the club room, there were several students already there, chatting excitedly. As Tachibana stepped in the room, all their attention was shifted to her.

"Hello, everyone!" Tachibana trilled, clapping her hands together. "Nice to see that you're all here!"

"Hi, Tachibana-sensei!" greeted the students.

One girl blinked at Naoko. "Do we have a new member?"

"Ooh, how exciting!" another girl said. She wore her hair in two purple drills that gave her an elegant, aristocratic air, though, judging by her behaviour, she wouldn't be able to pass off as even a plutocrat.

"Everyone, this is Naoko!" Tachibana introduced, having gotten her name from the club form. "Starting from today, she's one of us."

"Nice to meet you," Naoko said blandly, bowing. "Please take care of me."

"It's nice to meet you too," said the girl with the twin drills. "I'm Ayame! None of us here really like using formalities, so is it alright if we just call you Naoko?"

"It's fine."

Suddenly, what seemed to be a leafy ball of energy appeared next to Naoko. "Hi, hi! You can call me Midori! It means green!" She pointed to her head. "Like my hair! Isn't that cool?!"

Naoko sat down at the table next to Ayame, who smiled at her, and the flow of introductions continued. This... extrovert stuff wasn't really her thing but she could make it work. Thank god there weren't many members in this club.

"Shinji," a boy with a head full of shaggy dark lavender hair said, shaking Naoko's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm Toshio," a blue haired boy that Naoko immediately pinpointed as a class representative based off the badge pinned to his uniform said. "Are you by any chance friends with Makoshima Tadashi? I see you outside his classroom a lot."

Naoko shifted in her seat to get a better look at the boy. "He's my brother," she said simply.

"Ah, I see. I'm the class representative of class 3-4, you see, and I was getting a bit concerned about Tadashi's lack of interaction with our classmates. Luckily, Oikawa seems to have warmed up considerably to him."

Naoko perked up.  _Oikawa, huh? But why? Why would Oikawa take an interest in him? In me?_

Her train of thought was disturbed when a pair of twin tails appeared in her line of vision.

"Hi there!" a pink-haired girl greeted cheerfully. "I'm Katsumi. I'm looking forward to working with you." She elbowed a sullen looking girl with sandy brown hair. "Right, Leiko?"

"Shove off, Kat."

So there they were, in all their glory. A club made of a grand total of of six. Seven, including Naoko, and eight if one were to stretch it a lot to include Tachibana.

By the time introductions were over, Naoko felt as if the life had been sucked out of her. All she wanted to do at this point was take a nap.

"Not very talkative, are you?" Leiko said snidely. "What could have made you join this little ragtag team? Did you lose a bet or something?"

"This was the only choice I had left," answered Naoko, keeping her voice even.

Leiko smirked lazily. "Uh huh..."

"Cut if out, Leiko," Toshio scolded. "Don't antagonize people like that."

"I'm not antagonizing anyone, Toshio. Get that stick out of your ass already."

"Alright, everyone!" Tachibana interrupted before Leiko and Toshio's arguement could escalate. "Have you all been brainstorming ideas for the upcoming Culture Festival?"

"With all due respect, sensei," Leiko said, not sounding very respectful at all, "it's only June. We have plenty of time."

"So I take it that you were too lazy to think of anything?" Toshio jabbed.

"No. I just have better things to do with my time."

"Gods, you are so annoying. I swear, you only joined just to annoy people. You have major character problems, Leiko."

"And you are way too uptight for my taste, class rep," Leiko said mockingly. "What? You gonna tattle on me?"

"Hey, hey, enough," Ayame said, frowning. "We're not going to get anywhere if you two keep arguing. If you have personal issues, please take it somewhere else so you don't make anyone else uncomfortable."

 _She must be the leader or something,_ Naoko noted, observing the club members with a sharp eye.  _And Toshio's status as a class rep and a third year at that doesn't seem to matter around here either._ Toshio grumbled and crossed his arms on the horseshoe shape table.  _He realizes this too and he's definitely not happy about it. And Leiko... she's just a bitch._

"I have an idea!" Midori, the green-haired girl, piped up, taking out her tablet. "I was thinking that we should do a pantomime."

"A pantomime?" Naoko parroted uncertainly. Was this some kind of drama jargon she wasn't getting?

"Don't you know what a pantomime is?" Leiko drawled, examining her nails. "Wow. You really are stupid."

"Considering I'm in class 2-5, I have to disagree," Naoko retorted. "As for you... there's a lot left to be desired. And I'm not even considering your brain yet."

"Book smarts will only get you so far, Naoko," Leiko tutted, giving her one of her lazy grins.

This time, it was Katsumi who stopped Leiko. "You're so salty, Lei! Be nice."

"Shut up, Kat."

_Katsumi and Ayame are the only ones that Leiko even remotely listens to. It looks like that Katsumi is closer to Leiko than anyone else as well. What a weird friendship dynamic._

Midori continued talking like that little spat hadn't even happened. "I was thinking that we could go for a classic this year!"

_Her voice is loud and a little irritating. She's the extroverted, creative type, I'm guessing._

"Cinderella?" Shinji read out. "Does that mean I have to wear a dress?"

_Shinji's the quietest out of all of them. But what does he mean? Why would he have to wear a dress?_

"In a pantomime, gender roles are normally reversed," Tachibana explained for Naoko's benefit. "It's for the humor effect."

"Right," said Naoko, wondering if this teacher was some sort of mind reader.

"That's so overdone," protested Leiko. "Can't you come up with anything better?"

"Can you?" Toshio sneered at her.

"Buzz off, hardass. I wasn't talking to you."

"It's overdone, but it's good," Ayame praised, giving Leiko and Toshio a hard look. "Thanks for your input Midori - "

"You're totally-dotally welcome!"

" - Does anyone else have anything to add?"

Katsumi tapped her chin. "Not me. I really like the idea of a Cinderella pantomime. Plus, it fits the cultural theme. It's just western culture, that's all. What do you think, Leiko?"

"What do I think?" Leiko smirked at Toshio, whose ears were burning red from anger. "I don't know Kat. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have an opinion while the great class rep is here."

Toshio fumed. "Leiko - "

"Fight one more time and I'll kick both of you out," Ayame threatened. "Leiko, stop trying to rile Toshio up. Toshio, stop getting baited so easily. It's not a good look for a class representative."

"What about you, Naoko?" Katsumi turned to the ravenette. "What do you think?"

Naoko honestly didn't know what to think. "It's... interesting."

"Does that mean you're voting for it?" Midori asked excitedly.

"... Sure."

"Yay! Naoko's on my side!"

Naoko sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

"How was practice?" Naoko asked without looking up from her phone as she waited by the school gates, a shadow looming over her.

"Oh, it was great, Mako-chan! Thanks for asking."

Naoko looked up. "Oh. It's you." Then she went back to typing on her phone.

"Mako-chan~" He poked her cheek and she scowled, pushing his hand away.

"I've said many times; don't touch me," she said coldly. "You don't have enough friendship points for that."

"How many do I need then?"

"At least fifty."

"Damn." He stood closer to her. "Are you waiting for Dashi-chan?"

"Duh."

Oikawa leaned down, trying to capture her facial expression. "You seem more irritable than usual, Mako-chan."

"I was fine until you got here, dumb chihuahua."

"Wah! Mean, oyster-chan. I thought you enjoyed my company."

"Are you daft?"

At that moment, Tadashi appeared, sweat on his brow and lookin happier than ever. Naoko couldn't stop herself from staring at him.

"Ta... Tadashi." Immediately, she rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" She stood on her toes to look for any injury he might have. "Did... you panic?"

"Everybody treated me fine," Tadashi said softly. "They nearly found out about my eye but other than that, everything's fine."

"Okay... okay, good. Sumire said she's biking to Hamilton-san's so we'll meet her there."

"Hamilton-san?" Oikawa echoed, sidling up to them. "Is he a foreigner?"

"Yeah," Naoko answered. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd just let us go."

Thankfully, Oikawa did not object. "See you tomorrow then, Mako-chan!" And with that, he walked off.

 _Strange,_ Naoko thought,  _he said bye to me and not Tadashi._

* * *

Her phone dinged for what seemed like the millionth time. Chuckling, Sumire stopped her bike, pulled out the device, and checked her messages. Kageyama and Hinata were bantering again, as usual.

But then there was another ding and a message from her and Kageyama's private chat appeared. Curious, she opened it.

* * *

**LINE: DUMBASS**

[Kageyama]: hey dumbass

[Makoshima]: You called, dumbass?

[Kageyama]: do you want to go the arcade this evening? Dumbass Hinata wants you to come

[Makoshima]: I'll get back to you on that. I have an appointment right now and I'll have to ask Naoko

[Kageyama]: k

[Kageyama]: dumbass

[Makoshima]: stop talking to yourself dumbass

[Kageyama]: hypocrite

* * *

"Alexander Hamilton! Had a torrid affair, and he wrote it down right there. Highlights!"

Tadashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat as The Reynolds Pamphlet continued to play on the speakers. Dr. Hamilton was a huge fan of the musical and every time they entered his office, they would hear some sort of Hamilton song playing.

"Just ignore it," Naoko comforted, knowing how uncomfortable he must be to listen to a song about a man publishing a tell-all about his affair with another man's wife. It was a theme that hit a little too close to home.

"Hey." Sumire walked into the waiting room and sat next to Naoko, her hair slightly windblown. "Hamilton again?"

"Unfortunately," Naoko quipped.

"I heard that," a Caucasian man with sandy brown hair said as his office door swung open. "Thanks for waiting guys but try not to diss my musical taste behind my back.

"Good afternoon, Hamilton-san," Naoko said, smiling ever so slightly. "It would be better if none of us could understand English. Too bad English courses are more extensive than ever nowadays."

Hamilton nodded. "If you say so. Personally, I think it's great to be bilingual. Come in, guys, come in."

The door closed behind them, leaving only Hamilton music to fill the otherwise noiseless waiting room.

* * *

_**A/N: I couldn't help it. I love Hamilton too much to not include any references.** _

_**I'm going to list the members of the drama club below more for my own benefit.** _

_**Ayame** _

_**Midori** _

_**Katsumi** _

_**Leiko** _

**_Shinji_ **

**_Toshio_ **

**_Tachibana_ **

**_Naoko_ **


	8. Disillusionment

_Small talk is unneeded if the words you speak are meaningless. Tell me; do you really care about today's weather? I didn't think so._

_\- Shinji Hayashi_

* * *

"Hoookay!" Katsumi clapped her hands together. "I suggest we get started by doing a few warm up performances! What do you say, guys?"

A few of the drama club members nodded in agreement, the only unenthusiastic ones being Leiko and Naoko, and, to some extent, the passive Shinji.

 _Her hair bounces when she does,_ Naoko noticed, sweatdropping at her own observation.  _How odd..._

While Naoko and Shinji did not actively object to Katsumi's suggestion, Leiko certainly did, expressing her displeasure in one word as well.

"No."

Toshio rolled his eyes. "Oh, here we go."

 _It's like a cycle,_ Naoko thought numbly as she watched Leiko and Toshio get into another one of their animated fights. Katsumi tried to pull them apart but to no avail, leaving Ayame to step in with that stern leader look on her face. To the side, Tachibana was regarding them with a small smile. She would only step in if she needed to. Right now, Ayame had everything under control.

Naoko quietly accepted her role as Midori screeched with excitement. The ravenette blinked at the paper, her eyes scanning each word. According to the sheet Katsumi had given her, Naoko was supposed to play the role of a love struck princess.

"Gee," a very irritating voice drawled. Leiko looked over Naoko's shoulder, ignoring the frosty look that the latter gave her. "They couldn't have given you a less suitable role."

_Oh? And what exactly does she mean by that?_

"I mean," Leiko continued, smirking. "Look at you. You're so detached... from, well, everything."

"Leiko," Ayame warned. "That's enough. This is only this morning's warm up exercises so it's not anything permanent. I'm sure Naoko will be able to pull it off just fine."

Frankly, Naoko didn't need or want Ayame to stand up for her, but she was grateful for the purple haired girl's intervention anyway. She didn't really feel like taking Leiko on for a verbal spar right about now. Both of their tongues were sharp and their words could be toxic. Naoko didn't need that so early in the morning.

"It looks like I'm first," Midori said, smiling excitedly. Naoko glanced down at her paper. Midori was playing the role of a servant.

As they went through the script, Naoko put minimal effort into her part, mainly because she had no idea how to get into the shoes of a lovestruck young woman. Even when Toshio's character tried to serenade her, Naoko blandly recited her response.

She sighed through her nose. It was definitely too early in the morning for this. Honestly, she might actually prefer putting up with Oikawa at this point.

* * *

_"How has everyone been?" asked Dr. Hamilton, smiling kindly at all three of them. When they only gave him terse, slow nods, he turned to Sumire. "Sumire-chan, how has life been treating you lately? Are you still taking your violin lessons?"_

_"Yeah," Sumire replied, crossing her legs in a 'criss-cross apple sauce' position. "I'm still taking lessons with Kororo-sensei, though it's getting to the point where all my music pieces are starting to blend into one big mashup."_

_"Understandable," Naoko interjected. "I got to that same point when I still took lessons as a child."_

_Hamilton leaned forward. "Interesting. You've never spoken to me about this before. How long have you played violin for, Naoko-chan?"_

_Ah. Right. Naoko really hadn't mentioned her previous lessons to the good doctor before. It was unknown to her what had made her open up so suddenly just then, but she clamped down twice as hard._

_"About five years."_

_Hamilton nodded and scribbled some notes down on his clipboard._

_"I'm playing volleyball again," Sumire revealed, seeing Naoko's face harden when Hamilton recorded her words. Naoko sent a silent thank you to her sister. "I met someone who brought me back into it." She paused. "It's been a while since I've played and even now I only play on occasion. But Kageyama... he makes it fun."_

_"And this Kageyama is your friend?"_

_"I guess... we haven't known each other for long but we... clicked," she offered lamely. "Same goes for his friend Hinata as well. The two are complete opposites but still somehow manage to get along." Another pause "Most of the time."_

_When Sumire was done talking, Hamilton wisely started talking to Tadashi instead of Naoko._

_"I've joined the volleyball club," Tadashi confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. Hamilton had to lean in just to hear him properly._

_"Oho!" Hamilton grinned. "From what you've told me in the past, you've had quite a history with volleyball. I'm so glad that you've decided to start playing again. What is your team like?"_

_"They're great." Tadashi blushed. "All of them have treated me nicely, especially Oikawa."_

_"Oh? And he is...?"_

_"The captain."_

_"I see, I see..."_

* * *

"Someone's not happy," Oikawa observed as he sidled next to Naoko in the hallway. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Mako-chan?"

She only glared sullenly at him and quickened her pace.

 _What's her problem?_ Oikawa wondered, a tad confused and irritated.  _Is it that time of month again?_

"EEEK! LOOK OUT!"

"Midori, no!"

Oikawa jumped to the side as what seemed to be a green Sonic the Hedgehog barrelled down the hallway, knocking down students left and right as if they were bowling pins. Ignoring the mental image of Iwaizumi as a bowling pin that had formed in his mind, he winced as he watched the green ball of energy slam into the wall at the end of the hallway.

Only Midori hadn't collided into the wall at all. As the students dispersed, it allowed Oikawa to see a truly odd and perhaps a little terrifying sight.

He had almost forgotten the display of strength Naoko had shown on her first day at Aobajosai. But he was quickly reminded at the sight that beheld him.

Midori spluttered in surprise as she lay on the floor, Naoko having flipped her onto her back to stop her from making contact with the wall.

Not that the floor was much better.

A girl with purple twin drills brushed past him as she pushed past the crowd that had formed around Midori and Naoko.

"Guys!" she cried, worry on her face. "Midori, are you alright?"

"Ow, ow, ow...!"

Oikawa didn't know when he started moving but he was suddenly by Naoko's side. "Mako-chan," he said sternly. "That was uncalled for."

Naoko looked up at him, flabbergasted, as if she couldn't believe that Oikawa of all people was telling her off.

"She surprised me," Naoko ground out eventually.

"That's no excuse," an accusing voice came from the gaggle of students. Oikawa nearly groaned as the almighty class representative Toshio came into view. "You could have seriously injured her."

"But she wasn't," Naoko pointed out, her voice void of any anger or annoyance. As if she had put some kind of barrier up. "No one got hurt."

"Tell that to Midori."

"To be fair, she was running in the halls," Oikawa pointed out, more than a little irritated at Toshio's self-righteousness. "It wasn't entirely Mako-chan's fault. Esteemed class rep," he added as a mocking afterthought.

"Has Queen Bitch finally shown her true colours?" a girl with sandy brown hair and square glasses mused. "And on one of her own club members no less..."

"Queen Bitch?" Naoko echoed, her eyes snapping upward to meet the girl's. "I was under the impression that that title was only reserved for you." She looked around at the crowd. "I don't want to cause another scene. If you have some kind of problem with me, then we can discuss it later."

Oikawa didn't stop her as she walked away.

"Are you her friends?" Oikawa suddenly asked, his gaze sweeping over Midori, Toshio and the other two girls.

"I suppose," said the girl with twin drills. "Though I'm not very impressed by her behaviour."

By now, most of the students had left to go do their own business, leaving Oikawa and the four in relative privacy.

"That hurt!" whined Midori, rubbing her head. "She didn't even say sorry..."

"I'll be having a talk with her later," Toshio said grimly, apparently having decided to take Naoko's parting words to heart. "What she did was totally unacceptable."

"I'm not her friend," the sandy haired girl said bluntly. "Nor do I want to be. I'm going to class now. Goodbye."

The purple haired girl sighed. "Forgive Leiko. She... she's been through a lot and her attitude isn't always the best." She held out her hand to Oikawa. He didn't shake it. Slowly, she dropped her hand back down to the side. "Err... I'm Ayame."

"Oikawa Tooru," he said simply.

"Oh, yes, I know who you are." A small blush appeared on her face. "Everybody does. Anyway, to reiterate, yeah, I guess she's our friend."

"You don't seem to be very good friends," Oikawa remarked. "You instantly took Midori's side without even asking for Mako-chan's side of the story. You all assumed the worst of her. None of you were there to see it happen. What kind of friend are you? Maybe Mako-chan had a good reason for reacting like that." At their outraged expressions, his mask slipped back into place and he smiled, giving them a victory sign. "But that's just my point of view... I'll see you around then. Bye-bye!"

As he twirled around and headed down to his first class of the day, a rush of satisfaction filled him from head to toe.

* * *

Naoko chewed on the end of her pencil as Inoue begun a lecture on environmental sciences. She wasn't paying attention at all to the lecture, having studied pretty much all the content before starting at Aobajosai to free up her time. She could not afford to spend so much time studying at regular intervals, not when she worked two jobs five days a week.

Working at Umeko's cafe consumed whatever spare time she might have free from homework and whatnot. And then there was her Sunday gig as a self defence instructor.

Her inattention could be validated, but she had opted to tune out of the lecture in favor for something most unusual.

Her warm up script. The one Katsumi had randomly given out to all the drama club members.

Naoko's brow furrowed as she studied the script intensely. Being only a warm-up exercise, the entire thing was only a page and a half long. All of her parts as the lovestruck princess had been highlighted in a nice purple hue, probably by either Katsumi or Ayame.

_Who even wrote these? This entire script is completely absurd. An orangutan comes out from the closet and steals the princess away from the prince? Even Sumire could come up with something better blindfolded._

What would a lovestruck princess even act like, anyway? As much as she hated to admit it, Leiko had been right. Naoko was definitely unsuited to such a pure, naive character. Normally, she wouldn't have cared about such things, and wouldn't have even given her situation a second thought. Even now, she found herself only caring because her lack of empathy to this shoujo princess honestly frightened her a little.

_"You're so detached... from, well, everything."_

_"You could have seriously injured her."_

A tick mark appeared on the side of Naoko's otherwise impassive face. Right. She had almost forgotten that that little incident in the hallway had pretty much turned all the drama club members against her.

 _I could have reacted better,_ Naoko told herself.  _But it wasn't entirely my fault. Midori shouldn't have been running in the halls to begin with._

But the green haired girl had done so anyway and Naoko had paid the price, earning herself the ire of her fellow club members. She shouldn't have expected any better, she supposed. One way or another, there would always be something or someone working against her.

Sometimes it was time.

Sometimes it was people.

Most of the time, it was people.

The class finished and were allowed a ten minute break before their next class began. While her classmates began to converse, Naoko continued to read her script over and over again until it got to the point where all the words began to mesh together.

"Um, Makoshima-san?"

Naoko's eyes flicked upward, making the girl who had addressed her flinched.

"Fujikawa Haruka," Naoko recited mechanically. "What can I do for you?"

Only a miracle could have gotten Fujikawa Haruka a place in the school government as a class representative. She was shy and always avoided confrontation as much as possible. Just last week, there had been a fiery argument between two girls, one of which was accusing the other of being a backstabber, and had nearly escalated into a catfight. They had been pulled apart by some of the other students while Fujikawa had simply stood there watching, her eyes wide with terror.

Now, Fujikawa burned a bright red and started to splutter. Naoko patiently looked at her, waiting for her to spit it out.

"I-I-I h-heard you got into a fight in the hallway...!" Fujikawa stiffened as Naoko frowned slightly. "S-sorry! I won't bother you or judge you by your actions! Sometimes, delinquents are needed to make things balance out." Flustered, she began to bow to Naoko repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry! Eek! I shouldn't have said that!"

By now, people were glancing over in their direction.

Grimacing, Naoko leaned closer to Fujikawa. "Please lower your voice, Fujikawa-san. Now what's this about a fight in the hallway?"  _Great. Just what I need. Suddenly, Midori and I had a catfight in the hallway._

As she expected, Fujikawa went on to shakily explain about what she had heard from the other students - that Naoko had painfully flipped Midori onto her back for no reason. Naoko narrowed her eyes when she faltered at the "no reason" part of her explanation.

"There's something you're not telling me," said said. Fujikawa's widened eyes told her all she needed to know. "What is it, Fujikawa-san? Just say it."

"Err, well... according to what they're saying... you and Midori are contesting for Oikawa-san's affections."

 _Okay, I definitely did NOT see that one coming._ "... Pardon?"

Fujikawa nodded earnestly. "Emiko-san said so. Midori was running up to Oikawa when he turned to talk to one of his friends. You saw what was happening and, out of jealousy, decided to pay Midori back by deliberately getting into her way and flipping her onto her back."

Suddenly, the story about the princess, the prince and the kidnapping orangutan seemed a lot less far-fetched to Naoko then it had been before.

"That's not true," Naoko stated, her gaze darkening. Fujikawa whimpered and backpedaled immediately.  _Stop it. You're terrifying her._ So she unfurrowed her eyebrows and attempted to smile. That only seemed to creep Fujikawa out more so she reverted back to her normal, flat expression. "Looks like this Emiko-san of yours took a story and completely blew it out of proportion."

"Why would she do that?" Fujikawa asked, blinking innocently. "Emiko-san is the president of the student council. Whatever rumors she spreads is always one hundred percent true."

 _Is she for real?_ "Rumors are never one hundred percent true," she countered. "Why else do you think they're called rumors? They're all unverified accounts of what actually happened. It's like one huge game of Chinese whispers. Anybody has the power to change what's being said. And, as president, Emiko-san should not be spreading rumors of other students," she added pointedly.

Fujikawa gulped, but looked as if Naoko's words had finally penetrated her thick skull. "I-I guess you're right... Maybe I should not trust everything that comes out of Emiko-san's mouth... So, um..." The tips of her ears blushed cutely as she became increasingly flustered. "What... actually happened?"

Naoko hummed in contemplation, twirling her pen. "It's true that Midori was running. In fact, she was totally out of control. I don't know about her running into Oikawa or anything... but, when she got to the end of the hall, I was there. I guess I was daydreaming a bit. I didn't see Midori coming until last minute. She was going to run into the wall so I figured that I might as well stop her momentum." She grimaced. "I guess the way I went about it wasn't exactly the best way."

"What about Oikawa-san?" Fujikawa inquired, seeming more invested than ever. "How does he fit into all of this?"

"Hmm?"  _Oh, right. I had almost forgotten about him._ "He was the only one that stood up for me when Midori's friends turned against me. Though he started out on their side, he was able to take off whatever rose lenses he had when Toshio showed up."

Fujikawa nodded. "Right. You... you're a lot nicer than you seem, Makoshima-san." She clutched her head. "Oh, no! I did it again! I insulted someone!"

"... It's fine, Fujikawa-san."  _If only she had a better filter._

Suddenly, Fujikawa balked and Naoko had a feeling that whatever issue she had recalled was not related to her concern about being the subject of Naoko's ire.

"What's wrong?"

"I just remembered something," Fujikawa said hollowly, the vacant tone of her voice surprising Naoko. She grew still and stared into the wall.

"... Fujikawa...? Are you still breathing?" Naoko stood up from her seat and took hold of the class representative's shoulders.

"Eek!" Fujikawa jumped, making Naoko snatch her hand away instantly. The skittish class rep smoothed down her uniform skirt for a few moments before trying to regain her composure. "You see, Makoshima-san... the student council plan to confront you about the whole thing on our next weekly morning assembly, which is tomorrow. They... they want to embarrass you in front of the whole school!" She leaned in. "Emiko-san knows that Oikawa has been hanging out with you and your brother lately. She doesn't care about Tadashi since he's a guy but Emiko-san is out for your blood."

"She's after me because I'm female and appear to be closer to Oikawa than she'll ever be?" Naoko scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What a ridiculous double standard."

Fujikawa looked torn between agreeing with Naoko and defending their esteemed president of the student council.

Naoko leaned back in her chair. "If she tries anything, I'll fight back. Maybe not with my fists but..." A conniving smile graced her features. "I can make use of my other resources."


	9. Pulling Strings

_No one likes a bully._

_\- Somebody_

* * *

In Aobajosai, morning assembly was a weekly special that the esteemed Student Council oversaw. Everyone would line up outside in the courtyard in their allocated rows and be addressed by the Student President herself: Emiko Watanabe.

The entire event was, of course, supervised by some several members of the faculty, but it was quite obvious who really ran the show.

Emiko Watanabe was as selfish as she was narcissistic. With her long, silver locks and stylish designer glasses, everything about her exhuded  _queen bee._ A girl that had had everything served to her on a silver platter; destined to take over daddy's business empire and be set for life.

In her eyes, and in the eyes of many people, Emiko was the epitome of perfection. They were blind to her two-faced nature, and, up until this point in time, it had remained that way for quite a while.

Despite being lacking in book smarts, Emiko was quite gifted in a worldly sense. She had up to date information on almost everyone in the school. The only ones that she didn't have some kind of dirt on were the ones that just weren't worth any kind of attention. That, and if you were Oikawa Tooru, because even Emiko knew not to cross the proclaimed Prince of Aobajosai. He was the one person that probably outranked her in the social ladder. If he wasn't so obsessed with volleyball all the time, the popularity gap between them might be even wider.

But while Emiko was cunning in nature when it came to ruining someone, she had not factored in just who her intended victim was. Typical high school girls she could shut down blindfolded.

Naoko Makoshima, however, would not go down that easily. While she didn't really give a rat's ass about her reputation, she did care for Tadashi's. And if Emiko really was going to organize a tell-all about her life thus far - and, by extent, Tadashi's - then she should really have planned it better.

Emiko Watanabe had opened the battlefield. But, as she would find out, she would not be there to close it.

* * *

_Many pairs of eyes flicked to her as she appeared at the doorway of the club room. Naoko tilted her head slightly._

_Those gazes were not as accusing as she thought they'd be. While they indeed looked wary of her, there was another gleam in their irises. Was it... guilt, perhaps?_

_Naoko closed the door behind her, breaking the silence._

_"Naoko," Ayame said by way of greeting, sounding quite awkward and out of place. "You came."_

_"I did," Naoko affirmed, a little confused as to why Ayame would be stating the obvious. If they were going to apologize to her or demand an explanation, Naoko preferred them to not beat around the bush. "You weren't expecting me to come?" It wouldn't have come as a surprise if they had._

_"No, not really," Ayame admitted, her cheeks tinting red in embarrassment. "Look, about what happened in the hallway..."_

_Katsumi cut her off, much to the purple haired girl's annoyance. "What Ayame is trying to say is that we owe you an apology! Well, some of us do, anyway." She glanced over Ayame, Toshio and Leiko. While Katsumi had not given Midori the hairy eyeball, the green haired girl still had the grace to look slightly ashamed._

_"We shouldn't have been so quick to point fingers," Toshio said rather sullenly. Naoko knew that his pride as a class representative must have taken quite a blow. But she did not feel even an ounce of sympathy for him. Toshio would have to learn how to get over his pride, lest he be blinded by his own arrogance forever._

_Leiko didn't speak up, snorting quietly instead and picking at her nails. Naoko noticed for the first time that the girl had hangnail on some of her fingers, probably from keeping her nails long and biting and picking at them so much. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of stressful situation Leiko had gone through to spur her into undertaking the habit._

_"Toshio is right," Ayame piped up once more. "We should have asked for your side of the story first before making any sort of judgement. But you have to understand, we've known Midori for a long time and..." she trailed off, unsure of how to continue._

_"These idiots are overprotective of her," Leiko said nonchalantly. "Is what Ayame wants to say." Her gaze flickered over to Midori. "Do you mind if we tell?"_

_For once, Leiko seemed at least a little concerned about her fellow club member, Naoko noted, nodding her head subtly._

_"I'd rather say so myself," said Midori, not sounding as hyper as she usually did. Was it the physical injury Naoko might have unintentionally given her or something else? Was it that strange notion of guilt again? Midori leaned further inward into the centre of the horseshoe table and Naoko quietly sat down opposite her, listening intently._

_"My hair," Midori said solemnly._

_Naoko blinked. Clearly, she had not been expecting Midori to start off her story by talking about her oddly shaded hair._

_"It's green, you see," she continued, and Naoko found herself wishing that Midori would stop stating the obvious and just get on with it. Almost shyly, she twirled a lock of hair in her fingers. "I think my hair is nice... and so do all my friends. But," her eyes dulled ever so slightly, "not everyone else thought the same thing."_

_"You were bullied," Naoko said carefully. Suddenly, she understood Ayame's initial fierceness so much better. It was likely that the two had known each other for a very long time, and that the purple haired girl had likely been an unwitting witness in her friend's bullying._

_Midori nodded in confirmation. "Green is the color of vegetables," she said, sounding like she was in a dream-like state. "So that's what they call me. And, uh, I... I suffer from..." she faltered, her nose scrunched up. "What was it called again?"_

_"Epilepsy," Ayame offered, not unkindly._

_Midori snapped her fingers, her eyes suddenly brightening. "Yeah, that! They threw rocks at me while I had a siezure one time!"_

_Naoko grimaced at the happy tone her voice held as the words came out of her mouth and tried not to stare too much. She had been stoned while having an epileptic episode in the past. How did she manage to be so casual about it?_

_"It's no good being a total downer about the past," Midori stated, as if she had somehow caught Naoko's thoughts. "Why frown when you can smile instead?"_

Not everyone has something to smile about,  _Naoko thought, a small crease appearing between her eyes as she frowned._  She's been through something potentially traumatizing. So how can she still be so happy? _It made absolutely zero sense to Naoko, but she assumed it was for the same reason that she smiled at Sumire when she got too worrisome. To make the people around her feel more at ease and not have to tread on eggshells around her._

_But did they really share the same motive? Naoko's normal smiles were usually nothing more than tiresome facades. Just a little mask to compel others (mostly Sumire) to stop worrying or pitying her._

_And then there was Midori's happy-go-lucky attitude. Could someone really fake that kind of behaviour?_

_Leiko seemed to be having similar thoughts. "I'll admit that your past hasn't exactly been ideal, Midori, but you can't say that for everyone. For some of us, there really isn't anything to smile about."_

_Almost instantly, Midori faltered. "Y-yes. Of course."_

_"There's always something to smile about," the quiet Shinji interjected mildly. Everyone turned their attention to him, including_ _the prickly Leiko. Even Naoko was curious to find out what he had to say. He lifted his gaze to meet the eyes of the others. "We just choose not to see those things sometimes for whatever reason. If a child were to see a fallen acorn on the ground, he would find great pleasure in his discovery and most definitely smile. I doubt any of you would have the same reaction. We all perceive things very differently, but, in the end, that perception is always based on choice, whether it be conscious or not." His eyes moved downward again. "Most of the time, it isn't a conscious decision. But it's still one you make."_

_Then the boy closed up again, staring at the table. The silence that followed was deafening._

_Ayame cleared her throat. "Well... we still have time to kill before Tachibana-sensei gets here. So what do you guys want to talk about?"_

_Ah. She'd been waiting for this moment. "Emiko has it out for me."_

_They all blinked at Naoko as the words exited her mouth. Even Shinji looked stunned at her revelation and quite possibly the manner in which she said it in._

_"Emiko?" Katsumi echoed. "You mean the same Emiko that happens to be our Student President?"_

_"Yes."_

_"What could you have possibly done to invoke Emiko's ire?" Toshio questioned._

_Naoko blinked, slightly surprised that Toshio was not defending who was essentially his boss. "It's a bit complicated."_

_"I'm all ears," said Toshio. "I may be a class rep, but I know how she operates and, frankly, I don't approve of it."_

_"Toshio's been vying for the presidential position of power for a while," Leiko cut in, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "He thinks he's more fit to be president."_

_"Thank, you, Leiko, for your unnecessary input," Toshio said, his voice strained. "If you have any problems, you can call 1300-eat-a-dick!"_

_"Any dicks I'll be eating certainly won't be yours," Leiko said crudely. "I don't think boypussies work the same way."_

_"Enough already!" snapped Ayame. "I've had it up to here with your constant bickering. Get out, both of you!"_

_"Huh?!"_

_"Go! Shoo!"_

_When Thing One and Thing Two were successfully out of the way, Ayame, Midori, Shinji and Katsumi turned their attention back to Naoko._

_Katsumi's eyes shone as she said, "Tell us more, Naoko. We can help you!"_

* * *

_Naoko clenched and unclenched her fists as she approached Tadashi's classroom. Normally, she would have no problem visiting her brother, but this time she wasn't here for him. The less he knew about her current situation, the better._

_She entered the classroom smack dab in the middle of one of their ten minute breaks. Luckily, no one paid much attention to her, with only one or two people even bothering to look up in acknowledgement._

_Gathering her resolve, Naoko heaved a sigh and marched straight over to where Oikawa was sitting by the window, surrounded by a gaggle of girls._

_Naoko couldn't help but noticed that he looked almost bored as the girls fawned over him tirelessly. She gave a nod to Tadashi before locking gazes with Oikawa's, who immediately brightened._

_"Mako-chan? You've come to see me?"_

_"I need to talk to you, Oikawa-san," Naoko stated, making sure to use the honorific. Though she mostly addressed him as simply "Oikawa" for the sake of simplicity, she could tell that his fangirls would be poised to rip her apart if she did. Not that they could, even if they tried, but she didn't want any trouble._

_"Hallway," Oikawa said, and she nodded in agreement, ignoring the soft protests of his fans._

_Once they were alone, with most of the other students being in their own classrooms, Oikawa spoke._

_"Did you need something, Mako-chan?" A small smirk found its way up to his face. "Or did you just want to please your eyes?"_

_She ignored the jibe. "Emiko is out for my blood," she said bluntly. "Fujikawa told me that she plans to expose me at tomorrow's morning assembly." She clicked her tongue. "Normally, I wouldn't really care much... but there's a chance that Tadashi will get caught up in all of this too. And I don't want that to happen." Naoko took a deep breath. "As much as it pains me to say this, I need your help Oikawa."_

_There was a brief pause._

_Then Oikawa grinned, the sheer magnitude of sunlight he seemed to be exhuding nearly knocking Naoko off her feet. "Aw, Mako-chan~ You've finally accepted me!"_

_She frowned. "This is for my own benefit, not yours."_

_"Oh? And do you think that you should be telling the person who hasn't agreed to help you yet that?"_

_"You are going to help me though. It's clear that you've already agreed... for some reason."_

_He hummed, leaning against the wall. "I must say, you're very perceptive sometimes, Mako-chan. Let's just say that I've decided to help you from the goodness of my heart, okay?"_

_"Goodness? There is nothing good or pure about your heart."_

_"Ack! Mako-chan, how could you?" Oikawa pouted and looked away. "Maybe I shouldn't help you."_

_Naoko shrugged. "That wouldn't matter. I already have enough help. But you... you can really turn the tide, Oikawa. I'm only asking you for my own self-interest and Tadashi's. You're not obliged to help us."_

_Oikawa narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. "Are you playing mind games with me, Mako-chan?"_

_Another shrug. "Maybe."_

_Sighing in mock exasperation, he patted her head. "Fine, fine. Is there something in particular you wanted from me?"_

_The cruel smile that danced across her lips made her almost unrecognizable. "Yes, actually. Emiko may be a queen, but you are a king as far as Aobajosai is concerned. I'm not sure if you're up for it, but I want the student body turning on Emiko by the end of the day."_

_"And how do you propose I do that?" he asked, though by the contemplative look on his face, he already had a good idea._

_Naoko looked at his dejected fangirls in his classroom. "You tell me. You've always been the best at utilising other people. I can tell just by observing how you interact with people."_

_Oikawa raised his eyebrows. "You do know that this is essentially bullying that could backfire horribly, right?"_

_"Of course. I'm very well aware of that. But Emiko is a threat to Tadashi and it's my job to shut her down before she can do anything. If I'm going to be labelled as a bully for it, so be it. I'll owe you a favor if you help me," she added as an afterthought._

_But Oikawa shook his head. "No favors," he told her, removing himself from the wall. "You've already helped my family. It's time for me to help yours."_

_"Your family?" Confusion filled her gaze. "What are you - oh." She relaxed. "So you know then. Is Takeru alright?"_

_"He's fine. Thank you." He ruffled her hair and walked back into the classroom._

_For once, Naoko didn't snap or try to fix her hair. Instead, she stared after him, her curiosity piqued. This Oikawa Tooru really was a strange one._

* * *

When Emiko stepped up on the makeshift stage of the courtyard, she was surprised to see that cold and indifferent faces greeted her. Unease filled her as not even a single boy or girl gave her admiring glances.

 _What's going on?_ she wondered, trying to come up with some rational explanation.  _Why does everyone look so unenthusiastic?_

Trying to cover up her nervousness, she giggled and turned on the megaphone. "Hello, hello, everyone!"

Her voice rang throughout the entire courtyard but absolutely no one returned her greeting.

Gulping, Emiko quickly ran through news of what had happened, often slipping into common gossip about other students as she normally did. But not a single person warmed up to her during her announcements.

Well, it would have been nice to have the audience's support when she did this, but she supposed that now was a better time than never.

"Before we wrap up today's announcements, I have something I'd like to share with all of you!" she said cheerfully, giving the audience a wink. "Why don't we come inside to the auditorium for this?"

And so they did, marching after Emiko into the hall like sheep. But little did she know, those sheep now had a different shepherd commanding them.

Meanwhile, Oikawa Tooru and Makoshima Naoko locked gazes in the moving crowd.

One smirked.

The other smiled wickedly.


	10. The Queen's Downfall

Naoko watched Emiko fumble over the technology as she and her best friends (a pair of twins whose names Naoko did not know) set up the needed machinery. A few minutes later, they stepped back from the wires and the large screen on stage flickered to life. Emiko stood to the side, looking faintly smug.

The Student President dipped her chin, locking gazes with Naoko.

As the video had nearly finished buffering, Emiko began to narrate, likely having practiced the entire thing at home. She could be dedicated when the time came.

"The story begins with a very special girl. In fact, she happens to go to our school. Let's give a huge round of applause for - "

" _Emiko Watanabe, you stop right now!_ "

Emiko whipped around, her eyes widening with horror as she saw herself and more girls on the screen. "What the? What is this?! This isn't the video!" She turned to the audience for help. "Um, technical difficulties everyone!" She loudly stage-whispered, "Yo, twins! Turn it off!"

The twins exchanged one glance. Then they backed away.

For the first time in her life, Emiko looked to be truly alone. Even the twins had abandoned her. She looked to the teachers for help but they were whispering amongst themselves, one voicing that they should let the video play.

"That's it! I don't care if I get in trouble, but this video is not playing!" Emiko stormed over to the player and pushed the twins aside, only to find another obstacle in her way. Her eyes brimmed with fury as she regarded the smaller second year in front of her. "You!"

Naoko didn't flinch. "It's not fun, is it? To be on the receiving end of all this?" She gestured to the cold, callous faces of the audience. Emiko took one look at their accusing eyes and stiffened.

"What goes around comes around," Naoko stated gravely. "People like you always get their comeuppance. Don't take a step further. The video will play and people will see you for what you truly are."

"You little bitch!" Emiko screeched, trying to shove her out of the way. But Naoko reached out and grabbed her by the collar. Emiko's glasses slipped down her nose as she was lifted off the ground.

"The video will play," Naoko affirmed. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

"Enough!" barked one of the teachers. "Makoshima-san, get back in line. Watanabe-san, you will stand back and let this play out."

Naoko scoffed and dropped Emiko on the ground none to gently, walking back over to where she had been standing just moments before.

"Pathetic," she murmured, casting her gaze downward.

The video played. It was not a very pretty sight. It turned out that Emiko hadn't been very careful as she continually abused her power as well as other students. There were glimpses of others as well, including a blonde Naoko swore was Izumi, but none of their faces were clear enough to incriminate them.

Naoko's disgust for Emiko grew as she watched her bully others into submission. And then came the next part of the video.

" _I was her first victim. Before she met the twins, we were best friends in middle school. When Emiko and I entered high school, I decided that I would dedicate more time to my studies. Emiko wasn't very happy about my decision as ostracized me for it. She used her position as a class representative to isolate me from my peers. Who am I, you may ask? My name is Hamasaki Fumiko and I was the first one."_

The screen cut to another girl, the lighting now dark enough to conceal her features. "A-ah, _hello... I'd rather not reveal my identity... but Emiko caught me in a bathroom once and said she didn't like the way I looked. She said I was fat and ugly and shoved my head down a toilet with the help of her friends. Umm, she left me alone after that, though. But it was a scary experience. I'm glad that I'm not important enough for her to go after me."_

 _"Heh."_ Naoko blinked in surprise as a familiar face appeared on the screen. She would never wrap her head around this part.  _"Kitamura Toshio here. Emiko doesn't discriminate against gender, you know."_ His voice became mocking.  _"I'm sure you're all glad to know this! How kind and just our president is! Oh, have I ever mentioned to you that she stalked me home and egged my house last year because I accidently spilled tea on her book? The tea that she ordered me to get for her? Those in the Student Council would know. I'm looking at you. Yeah, that's right."_

Several more people that Naoko did not recognize made their debut on the screen. With each tale of bullying, the teachers' gazes grew darker and darker. Emiko would not be getting out of this one scot free.

_"My name is Akiyama Midori. I went to grade school with Watanabe-san. When I was eight years old, she rounded up all her friends just to throw rocks at me while I was having an epileptic episode. It's only thanks to my best friend's interference that I'm still alive today."_

_"Leiko here. Just another face in the crowd. I'm only doing this just to add my own two cents. Tell me, people, do you really want someone like Watanabe to be your Student President? Aobajosai needs a leader not... whatever she is. Tch."_

And then the replay button appeared on the screen. The video was over. On stage, Emiko fell to her knees, shocked.

It was over. Just like that, it was over.

The blood was roaring in her ears as Emiko was escorted off the stage as the staff members took the reigns, announcing that Emiko would be resigning from her position until further notice. Naoko doubted that there would ever be any kind of further notice.

They were allowed go to class after that. Naoko made her way through the crowd and was just passing through the exit door when someone out their hand on her shoulder she turned her head ever so slightly.

"Oikawa?"

His hand never left her shoulder. "You did good out there, Mako-chan. Good job on not snapping completely."

"... Give me a little credit, won't you?" She crossed her arms. "I wish it had been longer. I wish her punishment could be dragged out a little more."

"Ah, you're so harsh. Emiko deserves it, I guess, but it's over now. She won't be threatening your family again."

"No," Naoko agreed, "she won't be."

Oikawa smiled. "Then don't look so upset. We won, didn't we? Smile, Mako-chan. You'll look prettier."

With that, he was gone.

"... Weirdo..."

* * *

"What was today all about?" Tadashi asked Naoko as they ate lunch together on their usual (illegal) spot on the rooftop. "How did you set up Watanabe like that?"

"She had it coming. It wasn't difficult really. I got Oikawa to do a little smooth talking and the kids from the drama club helped produce the video. Fujikawa and Toshio acted as insiders and managed to turn a lot of the Student Council members that had also been unhappy about Emiko's rule."

Tadashi nodded. "I hear that she's going to be suspended."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Who did you hear from?"

"Makki and Mattsun told me when they ran into me while I was getting water from the vending machines."

Naoko wracked her brain to add faces to the names but was unsuccessful. She had only ever heard of them in passing from Tadashi. During their group session with Dr. Hamilton, Tadashi had opened up immensely to the good doctor about his experience with his new team, which includesd introducing basically the entire team to the doctor.

"I'm not so sure if they're reliable but considering what Emiko did, it's believable enough." She swallowed her food. "How's club activities coming along for you, Tadashi-nii?"

Tadashi perked up. "Good! The team has been treating me well and," he blushed, "I... think I might be falling for someone."

Naoko's world stopped. Stopped and started again. "What?" The words she uttered were barely a whisper.  _No... No, this cannot be happening right now._ But it was. It was because she knew that yesterday she had spent the entire allocated time for club activities with the drama club collecting condemning footage of Emiko that other students had recorded but were too afraid to share. Knew because she had personally sat with each of the interviewees as they confessed to what Emiko had done to them. She had watched the video along with the rest of the student body.

And now, she was watching Tadashi fall in love all over again.

This was undeniably happening and there was nothing Naoko could do to stop Tadashi from making another mistake. It wouldn't be his greatest mistake - they were already past that point. But she'd be damned if she wasn't going to try.

"You can't be serious," Naoko said flatly, resisting the urge to cringe as Tadashi's face fell, a look of hurt crossing his features. "You have put your heart on the line far too many times, Tadashi-nii, you'll only get hurt again."

"They're not the same," Tadashi protested softly, hunching over a bit. "They're not the same as Akira and Ichirou."

Naoko dug her nails into her palms in frustration.  _That's what you told me last time! You told me Ichirou was different and look where that got you!_

At this point, she had long forgotten about her half-eaten bento. It was happening all over again and Naoko wasn't sure if Tadashi could handle another heartbreak.

"You have known them for not even a week," Naoko tried to rationalize to him, referring to the volleyball team as a whole. "How can you be so sure that they are different? We both know that you are not the best judge when it comes to character. What if it turns out that they're using you or something? You're not wary enough, Tadashi-nii." It took all her self control to stop herself from getting shrill. People stopped listening when women got shrill.

"I know that it hasn't been long," Tadashi said mildly, biting his lip. "But I feel like I've known them for months. They already know about my eye."

It was like one revelation after another. Naoko's head nearly spun as she openly stared at Tadashi, eyes flashing with shock.  _No. He didn't._ But the look on Tadashi's face told her otherwise.

"Why?" she demanded, trying her best not to completely lose it and snap at him. "Don't tell me they know about Izumi as well! Or Yamamoto? Or Ichirou? How about Akira? Your best friend? The one who left you to the wolves when he found out you were gay? Why would you trust them with that kind of knowledge?"

Naoko had many regrets and each unforgivable word she spat out tallied the number of regrets she had to a total of fucking infinity.

She stared angrily at the ground, her gaze smouldering. The fury she felt at that moment could not even begin to be described cohesively. It was the type of anger where you hated everything. And she did. She hated Tadashi for being such a goddamn fool. Hated Emiko for being a two-faced bitch. Izumi for blinding Tadashi. Akira and Ichirou she simply wanted to murder.

And then there was Oikawa and his irritatingly grand Stepford smile. The one he used when he had an ulterior motive.

But, most of all, she hated herself. There were too many things she hated about herself to be listed.

"I told them about my eye because they're my friends."

Naoko's head snapped upward.

Tadashi was a mess; trying not to cry didn't suit him at all. His eyes were red, each vein pulsing, and his lower lip was trembling. But he ploughed on, "I love you, Naachan, but this is something you'll never understand. Naachan," he stood up, "I don't think you have the capacity to understand friendship. Or love."

As he turned to leave, his gait unsteady, Naoko called out after him, "Then what is the force that has bound me by your side all these years! I love my family, Tadashi, and you are part of that!"

He stopped walking. "I didn't mean that kind of love. I meant the kind of love that I feel for Oikawa."

Naoko nearly fell to her knees as he spoke those dreaded words.

No.

Anyone  _but_ him.

_Tadashi, you fool._

But he was already gone, probably to see Oikawa, and Naoko couldn't will herself to chase after him.

* * *

_**A/N: Short chapter. Next chapter, there will be a time skip.** _


	11. Past Life

_You've got a friend in me._

_\- Randy Newman_

* * *

"You've been distant lately," Kageyama remarked before biting into his gari-gari icy pop.

Sumire, her headphones hanging around her neck, blinked. "Distant? How so, Kageyama-kun?"  _Have I really been distant?_

"You wouldn't have even talked to me if I hadn't approached you first."

Ah. Well, he was right about that at the very least. Sumire flushed and watched as her icy pop began to drip onto the sidewalk. "... I would have given you a hello," she said unconvincingly. "I'm not that rude."

He sighed and tossed the stick of his finished icy pole into the bin next to the bench they sat on. "I'm not an idiot, Sumire-chan. Unlike Hinata, I can actually notice my surroundings."

At that, Sumire couldn't suppress a snicker.

Kageyama shot her a look, affronted. "What? You got a problem or something?"

"Oh, no," Sumire said, putting her arm up in case Kageyama tried to elbow her. "It's just that you're pretty much the opposite most of the time. Tanaka-san approached you in a wig the other week and you didn't even realize it was him."

"He was wearing makeup!"

"So? Even Hinata told me that he knew it was him!"

This time, he did elbow her, making her wince in mock pain.

"Stop acting like a dumbass and tell me what your problem is," Kageyama said seriously, fixing that solemn glare on her. "I can't stand it when you act like this."

"Act like what?"

"Don't play dumb. You're all depressed. That's why you've been avoiding me and Hinata."

Sumire sighed.  _The man has a point._ "Alright, alright, I give. But it's really none of your business."

"If it's going to affect our friendship then it is my problem," he retorted.

Friendship. Huh. While it was true that they were now well acquainted, it was quite sudden for Kageyama to throw it out in the open like that. They had never stated the status of their friendly relations explicitly. Kageyama had taken the plunge first and Sumire was grateful that all she had to do was go with the flow.

She broke off a piece of her gari-gari with her teeth, shuddering when she realize just how stupid that move was. How did Kageyama do it? Biting into something so cold was the most horrible feeling ever! If only it was still mid-summer. That way, she'd have at least some relief. But no, it was autumn and all she could do was sit back and admire the view.

"Well?" Kageyama prompted, and Sumire realized that he was still waiting for an answer.

She sucked on a tooth before replying, "Something's happened between Tadashi-nii and Naoko-nee."

There was a brief pause as Kageyama rummaged through his brain to match some identities to those names. "Your brother and sister?"

A nod. "They're fighting." She bit her lip and shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts. "They never fight, Kageyama-kun. It... just doesn't happen. I think Naoko-nee wants to mend it but Tadashi-nii keeps shooting her down."  _Which makes me wonder when he got all that moxie from. He's changed so much in just a few weeks. What has he been doing with that volleyball team?_

"That's dumb," Kageyama stated in his usual blunt manner. "Why can't your brother pull his head out of his ass if it makes you this uncomfortable?"

"I don't think they really notice my discomfort," Sumire said, leaning back against the backrest of the bench. At his frown, she added, "Don't be surprised. They have more important things to focus on than me."

"That doesn't give them the right to treat you like you're invisible, dumbass. What kind of brother and sister are they?"

"The best," Sumire protested hotly, a tick mark appearing on her temple. "You don't know about our situation, Kageyama-kun, so please refrain from making stupid comments." Huffing, she folded her arms and scowled at the shop on the opposite end of the street.

"... Sorry."

 _... Did I just hear him right?_ She sat up straighter. "Hah? What did you say?"  _Did Kageyama just apologize?! Since when does he apologize?_ Suddenly, she felt even more uncomfortable.  _How weird...!_ "Say it again?"

He glared at her. "Don't make me repeat it. I'm not saying it again."

Rolling her eyes, she finished the rest of her gari-gari, tossing the wrapping and stick into the bin with precision. "Fine, fine. I heard you the first time." She fiddled with the cord of her headphones, stopping when she almost tugged the jack out of the phone in her jacket pocket. "So what do you want to do now, Kageyama-kun?"

"Can you toss to me?"

 _Of course._ Over the past few weeks, Kageyama had been working on his spikes with either her or Karasuno's setter, Sugawara. Honestly, she didn't see why he was relentlessly practicing this aspect of volleyball so much when he already had it down. But she just nodded and stood up alongside him. It was lucky that he had brought his volleyball things (carried inside his sports bag) with him today. He must have already scheduled some practice at the local volleyball court, Karasuno's gym being closed today for cleaning.

The court was located more to where Aobajosai was, which meant it was in Oikawa's neighbourhood.

If Lady Luck was on their side, there would be no unexpected run-ins with the brunet setter.

"Can you toss it faster this time?" Kageyama suddenly asked. "Your tosses are always arc. Can't you set it in a straight trajectory?"

"I try," Sumire said. "But I'm not a genius setter like you, Kageyama-kun. Until recently, I hadn't even tossed since grade school."

He nodded slowly, considering her words. "Just try to push the ball harder," he tried to tell her. "Like  _zip and zing_!"

Sumire stared blankly at him, nearly stumbling over a stick.  _'Zip' and 'zing'?_ "Uhh, I'll try..."

"Good. You still have room for lots of improvement."

 _Gee, thanks._ She was about to retort when something caught her eye. Namely, a sleek, black violin that was shaped like the blade of an axe. Her eyes sparkled as she regarded the instrument. "W-whoa..."

Kageyama, who had pulled ahead of her as she halted in front of the display window, turned around. "Oi! Hurry up already! Or else someone'll steal the courts." When she didn't move, he grumbled and strode back to where she was standing. "What's up with you?" It was then he took notice of the beautiful electric violin on display, practically begging to be played judging by the way the sunlight kissed its exterior. Frankly, he didn't see what was so impressive about it, having not a single musical bone in his body. "Are you done?"

He pulled at her arm and she snapped out of her dream-like stupor. "Oh! Sorry." Even as she apologized, her gaze was fixed on the electric violin.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at her. "If you want it so bad, go buy it."

She recoiled from him as if he had struck her, making him even more confused.

"I can't do that!" she shouted, looking as if he had just suggested she hand her newly bought puppy to a particularly cruel dog catcher. "Have you even looked at the price tag?"

He hadn't. But now that he had, the amount of zeroes on the tag was almost painful to look at. And while he wasn't entirely sure, he could infer that Sumire wasn't exactly in the best financial situation.

"I want to play it," Sumire declared out of the blue, wringing her hands. "Do you think they'll let me?"

"Eh? How would I know? I don't think I've even stepped into a music store before."

A snort. "Of course you haven't. You go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

"Fine. Don't take too long."

They went their separate ways with promise to reunite in the near future.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Sumire had still not come and Kageyama was fuming. For the past fifteen minutes, all he had to do was to toss to himself and spike it. It wasn't a very effective or even remotely entertaining way of training. By now, he had pinged her about thirty angry text messages on their personal LINE. She hadn't replied to any of them.

He scoffed and shoved his phone back into his bag after checking it for the umpteenth time. If she wasn't going to come to him, he'd go to her.  _Damn her. When she said later, I didn't think it'd be this late._

With a black cloud hanging over his head, he packed up his stuff and stalked back to where he remembered the music shop to be. It was a small shop tucked between two larger stores, he recalled, one being a homely supermarket and the other being a DVD shop.

Kageyama pushed the door with no small amount of restraint, ready to give Sumire a piece of his mind. But his prepared tirade went out the window when he beheld quite a peculiar sight.

Sumire hadn't even seen him come in, being fixated on a screen in front of her while expertly drawing the bow over the same black violin he'd seen earlier. Curious, Kageyama stepped closer, stopping about a foot behind her. On the screen, a popular anime was playing.

 _Kimi no Na wa,_ he quickly recognized. It was hard not to recognize the beautiful environmental shots that played out before him. Just a few months ago, it was the rage in all of Japan. Even now, it was still extremely popular. Kageyama himself had not watched the movie, being not a very avid fan of anime or movies in general. For him, his free time was always spent on the one thing he loved most: volleyball. Nothing could replace the ecstasy he felt when playing volleyball.

As shots from the anime movie played, Sumire played her music along with it. It was quite a popular tune — it had to be if  _Kageyama_ of all people was familiar with it — but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. No matter — it looked as if Sumire had found her volleyball. She was in her comfort zone. So far in that she hadn't even noticed Kageyama for the past five minutes as he watched her perform.

Hinata had asked her to play for him before, Kageyama remembered. She had flat out refused, stating that she hated performing in front of others. Hinata had argued that she was in the music club in her middle school and she had told him that she knew that her invisibility guaranteed her absolute discretion. People didn't focus on a ghost like her — the audience looked at the people at the front, the best players in the band. The ones with dramatic flair — the ones who made themselves noticeable. Sumire had her place at the very back and she was extremely content with it.

And, considering that, he couldn't help but feel honored that he could watch her strut her stuff in what she did best. He could see it in the way she moved — this was her passion. Her thing. This was her volleyball. And hell if he was going to distract her with his presence. So Kageyama stepped back.

"Good, ain't she?"

Kageyama nearly knocked over a shelf as the voice sounded right beside his ear. He sweatdropped and hoped that he didn't look too uncomfortable as he regarded the old man that had suddenly appeared beside him.

"She's a natural," the old man continued as if it were the most normal thing to say. "You see how she rotates her arm every time this part comes around? How her fingers move across the fingerboard?"

 _Fingerboard? What part is that?_ Kageyama wondered. This violin jargon was seriously confusing for the raven-head.

"Is she your sister?"

"No."

"Your girl then?"

 _What?_ "Hah?! Of course not."

The old man laughed boisterously. "Sorry, sorry! I just assumed."

Kageyama glared at the ground. Of course he did.

"Do you know the song?" the old man asked, and Kageyama really wished he would just shut up and let him watch Sumire play in peace. Taking Kageyama's silence as a 'no', he continued, "It's Zen Zen Zense by RADWIMPS."

_Her favorite band. Of course she'd play something RADWIMPS related._

Finally, the song ended and Sumire removed the borrowed headphones from her ears and put the violin back on its stand. "Thanks for letting me play —" She blinked at Kageyama's presence, dread filling her face. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Just the last part," Kageyama lied, trying to keep his face as straight as possible. As she thanked the old man and they walked out of the store side by side, he added, "You're... decent. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"Just decent?" Sumire repeated jokingly. "Kageyama-kun, I've been playing since I was five. I think I'm more than decent." She tugged on his sleeve, pulling him into a jog toward the volleyball courts. "Come on. Sorry that you had to wait for so long. I'll make it up to you!"

Kageyama had long forgotten about practice however. All he could do was nod as Zen Zen Zense looped inside his mind. When they arrived and Sumire begun her stretches, he felt inside his jacket pocket for whatever the old man had put inside. Though the shopkeeper had been discreet, Kageyama did not miss the way he brushed against him and let something fall into his pocket. The only reason he didn't confront him was because he seemed to have no ill intent and Kageyama was curious to what his motives were. He pulled out a paper that had been folded up many times.

Kageyama raised his brows at the paper as he read the kanji.

_THE SENDAI STANDOFF!_

According to the scrunched up flyer, there would be a musical competition taking place at Sendai's annual Autumn Festival, which was due to take place in just a few weeks.

And the prize money...

His eyes nearly bulged as he read the numbers.

Half a million yen. That would be more than enough to buy the electric violin Sumire wanted so much! Sumire was right — she was way beyond decent. She could actually  _win this whole damn thing._

The competition had one round and was divided into two categories: solo and groups. He had not heard much about the level of skill the competing musicians normally exhibited, but he was sure Sumire could crush them all if she really tried. She would enter the solo category and win the grand prize to pay for her electric violin. It was so simple!

_Crafty old man._

Without any time to waste, he went over to where Sumire was stretching her arms and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, look at this."

She took the paper from him, eyes widening as she read the entire thing. "Don't tell me..."

"You can win this, Sumire-chan! You can win the money and pay for the violin."

Sumire looked up at him, eyes doubtful. "I don't know, Kageyama-kun... I've heard of this competition before. Apparently, the skill level is supposed to be extremely high. I doubt that I would win."

"You can," he insisted, glaring down at her. "But if you keep putting yourself down, you're not going to. Be more confident, dumbass; that's how you win!"

"Hey! Hard to find self esteem when you're calling me a dumbass," she snarked. "But fine, if it makes you happy... I'll enter." She shook her fist at him. "Just watch me lose, Kageyama!"

"Win, you mean," he corrected smugly.

"Whatever..." she trailed off, looking into the distance. "Hey, Kageyama-kun?"

"Hn? What?"

"So you actually believe I can win?"

"Didn't I say you could?" he said snippishly.

"But do you mean it?"

That threw him off a little. "Well, yeah. Why would I say something that I don't mean?"

She turned back to him, a new resolve in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Umm... thanks for the confidence boost. I kinda needed that."

"You can pay me back by tossing better," he said, tossing the volleyball at her. She caught it.

"Pfft, of course. But, one more thing?"

"What?" Now he was starting to get a little impatient.

"On the off chance that I do win the Sendai Standoff... will you treat me to ramen?"

Kageyama cringed as he watched her eyes gleam in anticipation.  _Dammit... what is she doing to me?_ "Fine. But you're going to get fat in the future, mark my words."

She scowled. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." A devious smile. "Unless you toss for me. That should keep you in shape."

Sumire sighed, shaking her head. "You are incorrigible. You could have just asked instead of trying to guilt trip me."

"Shut up and toss."

* * *

**LINE: DUMBASS**

[Makoshima]: We still on for ramen?

[Kageyama]: Only if you win

[Makoshima]: 


	12. Fight

_It doesn't matter how cruel the world can be, or how unjust! Fight. Fight. Fight. FIGHT! FIGHT!_

_— Eren Jaeger_

* * *

Naoko woke up that morning with unsightly panda eyes. Grumbling, she threw off her bed covers, exposing her bare legs to the cold air. What had possessed her to think that it was a good idea to wear shorts to sleep last night? According to the weather app on her phone, which she checked every night before she went to sleep, today was supposed to be a good morning.

The app's prediction did not disappoint.

After freshening up, she tied her hair into a casual bun and wandered downstairs, where Sumire was drinking one of her energy drinks. It was nothing unusual — she was always drinking either a soda or an energy drink.

But Naoko was too tired to care about her sister's habits at the moment. Mumbling a hardly coherent 'good morning', she grabbed a piece of cold bread from the kitchen counter and starting biting into it. It was bland, of course, and Naoko cringed as she felt the substance go dry and pasty, sticking to the roof of her mouth.

Pouring himself a glass of milk was Tadashi, dressed in his school uniform and looking like the dead. It seemed like she wasn't the only one not getting enough sleep.

"What happened to your volleyball gear?" Sumire asked Tadashi, breaking the silence that had ensued. "You're in your school uniform. I thought you had morning practices every day."

"Oikawa-kun says that Monday practices are cancelled from now on," Tadashi told her, screwing back on the cap on the milk jug. "He says that we've done more than enough practice to earn some rest."

_'Kun',_ Naoko thought with no small amount of disgust.  _So Oikawa-san has suddenly become Oikawa-kun?_ She bit her own tongue as she aggressively chewed her bread, wincing slightly.

"I really like practicing though," Tadashi continued. If he noticed the way Naoko flinched when she bit herself he didn't say anything about it. "If only we had a volleyball..."

"You can practice with me and Kageyama-kun!" Sumire suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "He's always looking for someone to practice between club practices and stuff. I'll introduce you."

"Ah, yes," Naoko said, her voice slightly raspy from the lack of use that morning. "That reminds me, can you remind Kageyama-kun about the favor I owe him? It's been a while and I want to make sure that he still remembers so he can cash it in."

Sumire nodded in confirmation, typing a few sentences into her phone.

"Would you mind?" Tadashi said to Sumire, looking a bit uncertain. "I don't want to crash in or anything..."

But Sumire waved him off. "It'll be fine, nii-chan. Like I said, Kageyama is volleyball crazy."

_Better Kageyama than Oikawa. I don't want Tadashi spending any more of his time with that creep._

_He's the creep that helped you on multiple occasions,_ a little voice in her head reasoned.  _He can't be that bad... right?_

_Wrong,_ she argued back, feeling a little silly.  _He could be a saint for all I care and I still won't let Tadashi get near him. Never again. I won't let his heart be broken anymore._

* * *

"Do you still have that script we gave you back in June?" Ayame asked Naoko that morning in the club room.

"Yeah," she replied, the cold biting at her cheeks. How convenient that autumn decided to arrive early in bloody July. Must be some global warming shit responsible. "Why do you ask?"

"Katsumi suggested that we act them out again," informed Ayame, tossing one of her twin drills over her shoulder. "You think you can nail the princess part this time or...?"

_No,_ she wanted to say. She certainly wasnt going to nail the part because she hadn't even looked at it since the day she first got it. She had mulled over it during and in between classes that day, but had eventually ended up abandoning the script at the bottom of her bag.

"That's alright!" The ever cheerful Midori practically bounced between the two. "We'll support you, Naoko!"

"Can't she swap roles with someone else?" Leiko inquired, pushing her square spectacles up her nose as she examined her own script, likely re-memorising all the lines. "Face it, she never gonna be a princess. Or act like one. Especially not a lovesick princess." A smirk lined her lips. "Give the poor girl a break, Ayame."

Naoko ignored Leiko's attempts of trying to rile her or Toshio up. "What's the point of this exercise?"

"Oh, nothing special," Katsumi said flippantly. "But we thought that it'd be a good bonding and acting exercise. Besides, you've got a challenge to overcome, so we can work on that as well."

"Challenge?" Naoko uttered doubtfully.  _What challenge?_

"She's referring to your portrayal of emotion," Toshio explained.

"Or rather lack of thereof," Leiko said unhelpfully.

"I can portray emotion," Naoko protested rather listlessly.

All she got were skeptical looks. Leiko snorted as if she'd just said the most amusing thing and smiled that lazy grin of hers.

Naoko sighed, admitting defeat. "Fine, maybe I'm not exactly the best in that department, but it shouldn't be too hard."

They spent the rest of the morning, before classes took place, trying to help Naoko along. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly successful.

* * *

Naoko stared at the text Sumire had sent her, exasperated. "Not again," she muttered. "Why can't you just stay put, Sumire?"

She stood in the empty classroom, everyone having went off the lunch a few minutes ago. She had been about to leave when her phone buzzed and Sumire texted her saying that she'd be at Karasuno for lunch.

_She's getting too reckless,_ Naoko thought, weaving through the desks and chairs as she made her way to the exit. She was still a bit lost in her throughts when she slammed into the wall.  _Huh?_

Naoko glanced upward. The glaring visage of a thug-like third year stared down at her. She tried to sidestep around him but he moved when she did, effectively blocking her only way out with his broader build.

"Please get out of my way," Naoko said, craning her neck to look the third year in the eye.

"I don't think so," the third year sneered, pushing her back to let the others in. With narrowed eyes, Naoko allowed herself to be shoved back into the classroom. "You think you're so tough, don't you? Being able to beat up guys twice your size."

She didn't answer him. Instead, she focussed on his eyes, waiting for just one little lapse of concentration.

Being the bonehead he was, he continued to monologue, his two punk friends standing loyally behind him.

"We heard what you did to Itachi and the rest." He grunted and Naoko was briefly reminded of a charging bull. "I'm sure a smart little thing like you can put all the pieces together."

"Get out of my way," Naoko repeated, this time more firmly. She was sick of hearing him talk. "I'm supposed to be eating lunch now." Slowly, so that they wouldn't notice, her fingers crept closer to a chair.

A tick mark appeared on the side of the guy's head. Naoko had successfully pissed him off. Obviously, he wasn't a guy used to being made irrelevant by such a tiny girl. Furious, he lunged at her with his arm outstretched.

He didn't even get to touch her before she grabbed his outstretched limb and tossed him onto his back. Stunned, the delinquent could do little more but blink up at the ceiling.

That was when his friends moved. Naoko, who, after downing the first man, had plenty of time to regroup, snatched the chair from its place and smashed one of the gorillas across the face with it. The desk was upturned as the chair was yanked from its place. Both the desk and the downed thug landed at the same time.

_Shit,_ she swore in her head when she realized that her fingers were caught in between some of the latches. It must have been one of those rare foldable chairs. Just her luck. The delinquent seemed to notice her predicament, and, with a sleazy grin, advanced on her like a cat would to a mouse.

Naoko had just gotten her fingers unstuck when the last man standing violently grabbed her hair and kneed her in the stomach. While his friends were nothing more than brawlers, this guy had experience. She could tell that much by the force and precision in his attack. Saliva flew from her mouth as the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Mercilessly, he grabbed her by the uniform collar and tossed onto the hard ground. As she fell, her elbows caught the edges of multiple tables.

_That's going to bruise._ He attempted to stomp on her fallen form but she caught his boot just in time with the palms of her hands. It hurt, but if she let him do what he intended to do then it would have hurt even more.

With trembling arms, she pushed him off her and flipped back upright. In no time, she had executed a perfect roundhouse kick to his side, making him stumble. Without hesitation, she acquired the chair once more and  _threw_ it at him. It knocked him on the chin and he fell backward, landing with a thud.

He was out cold.

_It's over._

Except that it  _wasn't._

She turned around just in time to block the chair flying toward her, her arms stinging as the chair collided with her block. She'd forgotten about that first delinquent. He had merely been stunned, not completely out cold.

"Haven't you had enough?" she snapped, sick of this entire confrontation. "Your friends are unconscious and you're going to have an ugly bruise on your neck. Give up already."

"Bruises are nothing," he assured her, drawing something out of his jacket.

_A knife?_ She tensed in anticipation.

He now gripped an extendable metal bat.

"Fancy," she commented. For one little moment, that crucial concentration lapsed. And she struck, using yet another chair as a weapon. If she were to be hit by the bat it would mean trouble.

The man cursed but smacked down the chair with his bat, ripping the chair legs straight from Naoko's hands. Irritated, Naoko picked up another one just in time to parry his thrust.

He continued to jab at her with his bat, wielding it clumsily.

Something brushed against her as she backpedaled. Someone's bag. This was definitely a con to fighting in confined places — there were so many things that could trip you up at any time.

Cursing under her breath, she pushed one table against another and jumped on top of the two, now towering just a bit over her assailant. Then, once again, she swung at her attacker. The chair impacted with his face with a loud crunch.

The man howled as he clutched his broken nose with one hand, the grip around the bat loosening. She was going to kick it out of his hand when the inconvenience of fighting inside a classroom finally caught up to her.

The table she was standing on must have already been old and weak, she realized as she dropped to the ground, catching herself just in time. Just in time for her to look up and dodge the incoming bat, the wielder's eyes red with rage and, she noticed with a shiver, blood-lust. But how off balance she was on that landing played a bigger role than she thought it would.

While she had made her best effort to move out the way, the bat collided with her right shoulder. Not hard enough to break anything but hard enough to leave a serious bruise.

And hard enough to make her scream.

The delinquent looked extremely pleased with himself. But that smug grin was wiped off his face when she stood up and charged at him like nothing had even happened.

Oikawa Tooru entered the room, his hair teased from running, just as Naoko kneed the thug in the crotch.

* * *

Tadashi and Naoko were having a fight. Oikawa knew that much as he had observed his new teammate's reluctance to talk about his sister.

"Why don't we invite her to sit with us?" Oikawa had suggested just to piss the White Monster off. The plan for revenge had quite formulated yet, but the subtle jabs here and there were enough to satisfy him for the meantime. Underneath the table, he nudged Iwaizumi, who rolled his eyes but nodded discreetly.

"She must be lonely sitting all by herself on the roof," Iwaizumi added, kicking Oikawa beneath the seats.

"If she's cute, I agree," Makki said automatically before downing his carton of milk.

"If she's not a fangirl, I also agree," said Mattsun. "I've had it up to  _here_ with Oikawa's fan club."

"All six feet of you?" Makki joked.

"Would you really be surprised?"

Without even waiting for Tadashi to agree, Oikawa removed himself from the table with a "Be right back, guys!" and jogged to the roof. Other than passing each other by the hallway in between classes and whatnot, he hadn't interacted with her since they exposed Emiko.

"Mako-chan!" he called through the locked door of the rooftop. "Mako-chan, if you're out there, don't ignore me!"

There was no answer.

Irritated and maybe a little bit concerned, he banged his fist on the door. "Mako-chan!" A pause.  _Maybe..._ "Naachan!"

He waited for her voice to snap at him.

There was no answer.

_Where is she?_

A scream resonated all the way up to where he was standing.

The corridor was a blur as he ran, nearly stumbling a few times. Deep down, somewhere in his gut or maybe the pit of his stomach, he knew that Naoko was involved.

_Who's the unlucky person this time?_ he couldn't help but wonder. The shriek had been distinctly female. Had a few of his fangirls gone after her and had she put them in their place? He knew that Anzu, a high ranking member of the Oikawa fan club (yes, while unofficial, it existed) could get insanely jealous at times.

Oikawa walked into Naoko's practically destroyed classroom just as she kicked a man twice her size in the balls.

_Holy fucking shit._

The entire room was in disarray — chairs and tables were piled up untidily and in places that chairs and tables should never be if that were even possible.

Naoko turned, her bangs falling over her face in a mess. "O-Oikawa?"

Cautiously, he approached her, weaving through fallen stationary. As he got closer, he could see the beginnings of a bruise forming on her jawline, partially hidden by her thick, raven locks.

"What happened?" There was no jolly tone in his voice. "What the hell happened?" His gaze flicked to where two fallen students lay on the floor. "Did they do this to you?"  _Or did you do this to them? Or both?_

She scoffed, wincing in pain as she shifted away from him. "They wanted revenge," she said coolly, trying to downplay her injuries. "For what I did to their friends on the first day of school. As you can see, I took care of it. Now please move out of the way. I'm hungry and I want to eat lunch." Naoko tried to move around him.

He caught her just as she stumbled on a stray backpack.

"There's more, isn't there?" he inquired. The slightly guilty look in her eyes told him everything. He could see it in the clunky manner in which she walked. The way she hunched over. The way she favored her left side. "Where else does it hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said irritably. "Let me go."

"You are  _not_ fine," he snapped. "And you are  _going_ to let me help you, Mako-chan, because you are hurt and can barely function. If you walk away from me now, you  _will_ end up on the floor in the hallway." He chuckled mirthlessly. "And for what? Pride?"  _Don't ever say that you're fine when you're not. Don't do this to me, Mako-chan._ He almost stumbled as the thought crossed his mind. Since when did he truly care about her wellbeing? The only reason he had even continued to interact with her and help her was because she was a tool to be used to get to the grand prize: Tadashi.

Or at least that was what he told himself. Because, right now, he wasn't as sure as he thought he was.  _I should just let her go,_ he reasoned internally,  _we're not friends._

But they were.

Somehow.

Accidentally.

"I don't want to be a burden for you, Oikawa-san." She tried to gently push him away. "I can deal with my own injuries. I've had worse before."

He caught her shoulder. "Don't go, Mako-chan." Operating on autopilot, he ignored her soft protests as he picked her up and held her like a child. Naoko blinked up at him. He could almost read her thoughts:  _At least it isn't bridal style._

"Where are you taking me?" she asked when they left the classroom.

"Nurse's office," he curtly responded. "Where else, Mako-chan?"

A soft snort. "I'll probably get suspended again. Shiratorizawa Junior gave me two chances before I was finally expelled."

"You won't," he assured her, though he wasn't a hundred percent sure. "They inflicted injuries on you. They confronted you first."

Oikawa could almost feel her smile against the crook of his neck. "You think  _my_ injuries are serious? Did you even see what I did to them?"

_No, and, frankly, I don't want to either._ If that last knee to the crotch was any indication of  _what else_ she had done to them, he was content without knowing. Ignorance could be bliss, after all. "We're here," he announced, though the action was redundant.

"I do have eyes, Oikawa-san. You can let me down now. I can already see the nurse coming over."

"Tooru," he blurted.

"Hah?"

The nurse opened the door, concern in her gaze as she beheld the pair.

Oikawa gently put her on the ground, where her legs shook as she stood. She was shocked. She had to be at least a little spooked, after that.

"Tooru," he repeated, his tone lilting. "We're friends now, right? I'm pretty sure my chivalrous actions have awarded me at least five hundred friendship points. Isn't that enough for first-name basis? With no formalities?" he pressed.

The corners of her lips upturned in a rare smile. "Just for that, you lost ten friendship points.  _Tooru_ ," she added just as the nurse pulled her into the office, closing the door behind them.

Leaving Oikawa to stare at the door's single window, watching the shapes move inside before turning around and walking back to the cafeteria.

They were friends now. Huh. When had that happened? Yes, he had insisted on friendship but... he didn't realize that she would actually take him seriously. Maybe he was a more convincing actor than he thought. Oikawa yawned.

"How annoying."

His source of annoyance being Naoko or himself, he didn't know and wasn't bothered to ponder.

* * *

Sumire yawned, giving Kageyama and Hinata an eyeful of half-chewed food.

"That's disgusting. Close your mouth, stupid!" Kageyama slapped her upside the head. "God, you are nothing like a girl..."

She groaned in annoyance, and, just to irritate him further, opened her mouth even wider.

"She looks like a titan!" Hinata suddenly declared, his eyes shining. "Like from that anime series, Kageyama! Shingeki no Kyojin!" He blinked at her. "Except not as scary."

Raising an eyebrow, Sumire pulled a face. "How's this?"

"Kageyama is scarier."

"Shut up, Hinata dumbass." He turned to Sumire, staring at her. She stared back. Only when the staring continued did she realize that, Kageyama, who wasn't very eloquent with words, had no idea what to say next.

"I should go back to Kitagawa," Sumire announced, hoping to spare Kageyama.

"Have you entered online yet?" Kageyama asked at the same time. "The Sendai Standoff," he added in case she had forgotten.

"No," Sumire admitted, standing up and brushing off dust from the back of her skirt. At Kageyama's scowl, she defended, "I don't want to do it by myself! And I've checked the amount of competitors in the solo category and there are over twenty. There's no way I'm going to win. There's always going to be someone better than me. I'm not a virtuoso like them."

"And there it is." Kageyama's voice was almost mocking. She frowned but he went on, "That dumb attitude of yours. How are you ever going to achieve anything if you don't believe you're the best? You need to learn to fight!"

"Hey! Leave her alone, Bakageyama!"

"Shut up, scrub!" He glared even harder at her, making her wince. "Well?"

_Talk about aggressively encouraging,_ Sumire thought wryly, sweatdropping at his vehemency. "Maybe because I'm not," she argued. "But before you get mad again, I'm considering entering in a group."

There was a pause.

"With who?" Kageyama demanded. "One of your friends from the music club? Are they a boy or a girl?"

Sumire chuckled. "What friends? Do you really think I'd be sitting here with you guys at  _Karasuno_ if I have friends at Kitagawa?"

Hinata tilted his head to one side. "How do you not have friends?" The concept of being a loner didn't really make sense to him. "Everyone has friends, even someone as grumpy as Kageyama!"

"Oi! I'm right here, you know."

"I guess." Sumire hummed contemplatively. "It's more of a case that I'm never really noticed by anyone. I'm just... there. People talk to me sometimes but they're not really my friends."

"Sumire-chan is so introverted," Hinata said in response. "Maybe you should talk more."

She shot him down instantly. "I'm content with my ghostly existence," she said, her voice calm but perhaps a bit strained. It was almost a bland optimism. "Not everyone is as full of energy as you, Hinata-kun."

As she and Hinata spoke, she noticed from her peripheral vision that Kageyama was observing her carefully. As if he were trying to figure her out.

"I really should be getting back," she said, starting to walk away. "Otherwise I'll be late for afternoon classes." But Kageyama grabbed her sleeve.

"Wait. You never answered my question."

She blinked at him.  _Huh? Oh! Right._ "I don't have anyone certain yet," she told him. "But..." she faltered before strengthening her resolve. "I'm thinking of entering with my sister. I'm not sure if she wants to but I haven't asked yet so I don't know."

"Oh, okay." He turned away from her. "Bye then."

"Kageyama! That's so rude!" Hinata scolded.

As they argued animatedly, Sumire smiled and began the trek back to her school, knowing that Kageyama truly meant well. She could tell by the faces he made rather than the words. Kageyama was always one to communicate through facial expressions, even though half of those expressions were either some kind of scowl or glare.

She slipped her headphones over her ears after putting on a track on her phone, letting the world of Japanese rock wash away her worries.

 


	13. Wolfheart

_The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying._

—  _Roy T. Bennett_

* * *

"Shame..." She hummed in contemplation, tapping her blunt nails on the table. "How many yen do you need to raise again to keep the place open?"

"One million, but I've already managed to raise half," the woman sitting across from her replied, strands of red hair sticking out of her messy bun. She clapped her hands to get her and bowed to her. "Please! I don't know who else to turn to."

She sighed, pulling her scarf closer to her face. "Don't beg me, Yoko. I was going to do it anyway. But don't expect me to win. The Sendai Standoff is open to musicians of all different skill levels. Heck, I don't even think  _my_ skills will be enough to even be considered."

Yoko's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "Why not?! So what if you don't play an instrument?! What you do is a form of music too! Don't be so discouraged." She smacked her fist into her palm. "Everyone is either going to be singing or playing an instrument. But you... you're special. No one else can do what you can do." At her disbelieving face, Yoko giggled. "Looks like someone needs a cheer up session!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Naruto! Sasuke! Come here, boys!"

"Shit, wait —"

It was too late. She groaned as two adorably fluffy dogs jumped onto her lap and tugged at her hoodie sleeves.

Eventually, she gave in and stroked them lovingly with one hand. "Seriously, Yoko, their names are so lame."

"Hah?! What do you mean?! Naruto is a great anime!"

"Shouting in my ear isn't going to convince me. You're so loud sometimes, nee-chan..."

Yoko shook her head at her younger sister. "I gotta be loud to have my words penetrate your thick skull."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Word of advice: Never use the words 'penetrate' and 'thick' in the same sentence."

"Gross! You're so dirty minded!" Yoko sighed in exasperation and leaned back in her chair, her hands behind her head. "No pressure, you know. Even if you don't win, I'll find another means to collect money for the shelter."

As if sensing Yoko's disappointment, Naruto and Sasuke padded over to her side and nudged her hand with wet noses. Absentmindedly, she patted their heads, not even flinching when they licked her fingers.

Her eyes flashed. "Don't be like that. I'm still going to be entering." She tapped her chin. "There are so many in the solo category though, and only about four or five in the group category..." She shrugged. "Oh well. I just gotta deal."

Yoko grinned. "That's my lil' sis!"

Smiling faintly, she stood and stretched, pushing her half-empty mug of hot cocoa aside. "I'll get going now. No use in sticking around. Gotta use my time to practice." She paused. "Also, I should probably submit an online entry."

As she left, Yoko's eyes never left her retreating figure. Once she was gone, Yoko turned back to the dogs and tickled their ears, earning a whine of ecstasy from both of them.

"What do guys think?" she asked them, scratching their ears. "Naruto, Sasuke... do you believe in Leiko too?"

* * *

_She's doing something in there. Something important. Counting our debt? Applying for another job? Doing homework?_

Naoko's closed front door had never looked to intimidating before. She had just gotten home from work and had locked herself in her bedroom.

Sumire hadn't heard a word from her since she arrived with an "I'm home, Tadashi-nii-san!"

_Don't be scared. Try to think of something way scarier than nee-chan refusing._ Images of horror movie ghosts, Hiya Kitty*, and even Kageyama's angriest scowl flashed through her mind. Somehow, they all didn't seem as terrifying as they did before.

Was it bad that she'd rather be slaughtered by Sadako instead of facing rejection? Then she wouldn't have to deal with this stupid music competition that stupid Kageyama was insisting on her entering because of that stupid violin —

Sumire took a deep breath. Then she rapped her knuckles smartly on the door, shivering as the noise seemingly echoed around her.

"Nee-chan?" she called. "Can I come in?"

There were a few thuds as Naoko shifted in her bed. "Yes, you can. I was just finishing up some homework."

Relieved that Naoko sounded the same as she always did, Sumire entered without any hesitation.

She stopped in the doorway to behold her sister, who was wearing a pumpkin beanie. "Uh. Halloween isn't for another three months."

"You're not funny, Sumire-chan."

Biting her lip, Sumire sat down beside Naoko.  _You can't fool me. I see those bruises on your knuckles._  "Were... you fighting again?"

"It's not a big deal," Naoko responded automatically. She was wearing her glasses again and likely typing up another school assignment on her old laptop. "They tried to jump me and I dealt with them."

"Did they hurt you bad?"

"Not really." She pushed her back to show her the ugly bruise on her jawline. "I don't remember them ever hitting me here but the evidence speaks for itself." Naoko pulled her loose sweater down a bit further, showing Sumire yet another black-purple bruise that seemed to smother the creamy skin of her right shoulder. "This is probably the worst one."

Sumire nearly gagged at the sight. What kind of force was needed to do  _that?_

Naoko seemed to read her thoughts. "He had a bat. A metal bat."

"Oh my god. Any... anywhere else?"

"Stomach and side. Hands and arms as well." She rolled up her sleeves to show tiny nicks and greenish bruises on the aforementioned areas. "But other than that, I'm fine." Her gaze softened. "Please don't worry too much. I only showed you because I trust you not to overreact."

_Oh my god. Oh my god_ —

"You look like you're about to throw up, Sumire-chan."

Indeed she was. Sumire snapped her head upward, her face pale. "I won't," she promised, though she wasn't very sure if she would or would not. Throw up, that was. Then she remembered her original intentions. Naoko would be fine — those bruises were merely superficial wounds.  _I think._ "Hey, nee-chan?"

"Hmm?" Naoko's gaze flicked from her glowing screen to Sumire's pensive expression. "Oh, sorry. Did you need something?"

Kageyama's belligerent encouragement echoed through her ears. Sumire exhaled quietly and swallowed a forming lump in her throat. "Have you heard of the Sendai Standoff?"

* * *

"Hey."

Kageyama turned around to see Sumire approach him, a bored expression on her face. Under the afternoon sun, her eyes glowed an odd shade of blue. He turned back to the vending machines and pressed two buttons at the same time. One drink rolled down with a  _clunk!_

"Milk?" Sumire said as she appeared by his side, having closed the distance between them.

"Yeah." He popped it open and took a sip.

"Where's Hinata-kun?" She looked around, expecting to see the bubbly orange-head.

"He called in sick," Kageyama replied. "Didn't you check the LINE this morning?"

"Eh? Oh, uh, no... um, I guess I forgot."

They walked side by side to a shady spot underneath a cherry blossom tree, where they both proceeded to pull out their bentos. It was their usual lunch spot, though a bit unorthodox. The last group to occupy the area before them had been third year girls.

Sumire had cleaned up nearly half of her lunch when she noticed Kageyama staring at her with a perpetual frown on his face. She nearly flinched at the intensity of his stare, and forced herself to continue eating. But Kageyama's gaze continued to drill into the side of her head. Finally, with a sigh, she set down her chopsticks and bento.

"Did you need something, Kageyama-kun?"

"Have you entered yet?"

Ah. Honestly, she was hoping he'd forgotten. For now, she only relished in the comfort that Kageyama's usual bluntless gave her. "No..."

"Hah?! Why not?" At the crestfallen look on her face, he added rather insensitively, "Did your sister say no?"

The pained look she involuntarily gave him spoke louder than words.

Muttering curses under his breath, Kageyama shoved his hands in his pockets and stared — no,  _glared_ — into the distance, effectively scaring a pair of girls that happened to be passing by in that direction.

"Why don't you smile more?" she said, breaking the silence. "If you keep making that face, you're going to end up with lines all over your face when you get old."

"Everybody has lines on their faces when they're old," he stated, his frown deepening in confusion.

"True, but one type of line is more appealing than the other."

The poor high schooler looked even more bewildered. "There's more than one type of wrinkle line? I thought lines were lines."

Sumire chuckled dryly. "A lot of people think that, but to me, there's two types." She held up her pointer finger as she began to elaborate. "One type is frown lines. The other is laugh lines. Laugh lines are much more appealing," she added as an afterthought, just in case he didn't get the memo.

He tilted his head, no longer frowning but looking very, very confused. "They all look the same."

"Maybe to you," she shot back, "because you don't look close enough. Besides, even if they all look the same, what does it matter? The point is how you get those lines on your face in the first place." She giggled into her hand, picking up her chopsticks again. "This is such a stupid debate."

"You started it," Kageyama said, narrowing his eyes at her in accusation. "It only further proves you're a dumbass."

She blinked up at him. "You know, I never really noticed this but... you're vocabulary of insults is extremely limited, Kageyama-kun."

To her surprise, he looked  _worried._ "Shit, really?"

"Well, sure." She began to list off the few expletives that he used.

Kageyama scowled and huffed. "Do you know any more?"

"Don't ask me. Ask the internet." She grinned. "You can surprise Hinata-kun with more degrading comments."

He smirked, which was probably about the closest thing to a smile she would get from him. "Good idea." But that smirk was quick to disappear. "I'm going to ask your sister to compete with you."

Sumire straightened, her brick seating digging uncomfortably into her thighs. "How?"

Kageyama took out his phone and looked down at it. "You'll see. You'll know if I'm successful or not." He checked the time by looking at the little corner of his phone screen. "You should probably go back to Kitagawa."

"Damn! It's that late?" She had been looking over his shoulder. "Okay, bye then, Kageyama-kun! Also, we might have a new volleyball partner next Monday! He was too shy to come yesterday but I convinced him!"

"Huh?! Is he good?!" he called after her, nearly spilling his milk as he stood.

But she was already running away. She moved her arm up to wave at him. "I'll see you later!"

"WAIT, DUMBASS!" He was now royally pissed. "DON'T JUST SAY THAT AND RUN OFF!"

She pulled a face at him before disappearing around the corner, leaving him to fume.

* * *

"Sendai Standoff?"

Leiko shifted uncomfortably under Katsumi's scrutiny. "Yeah? That's what I said. And I would..." She grimaced. "Like it... if you came... to support me."

She really should have known better. Because the first thing Katsumi did was announce it to the entire world.

"GUYS, GUYS, GUYS! Leiko's gonna be participating in the Sendai Standoff!"

"I whispered for a reason, you asshole!" Leiko snapped, a vein popping on her temple. She scoffed at the looks she got from the others.

"Wow!" Ayame exclaimed. "That's so brave of you! What instrument are you going to play? Or are you singing instead?"

There was a pause.

"Uh. Singing. I guess."

It was Midori who piped up next, "Ooh! I didn't even know you could sing, Leiko —"

"Obviously not."

"— but I'm rooting for you! In fact, let's all go to the Autumn Festival to support Leiko! I'm already going with my family, soo~"

Leiko grimaced, pushing her glasses up. "Please don't."

But Midori just wagged a finger in her face. "Can't stop me, Leiko!"

Leiko turned on Katsumi. "This is all your fault."

At least the pinkette had the grace to act a little ashamed of her outburst. "Sorry! I just got so excited..."

"I can see that," Leiko said coldly, looking away from her. Unfortunately, that only brought Toshio, Shinji and Naoko into her line of vision. While she had no problem with Shinji, the same couldn't really be said for the others. "Is our class rep at a loss for words? And our ice princess as well?"

"Why are you entering?" Naoko inquired with icy politeness before Toshio could angrily retort. "Do you have something to gain from winning or is it just for kicks?"

Leiko tipped her head to one side. "I'm competing to win, obviously." At her blank look, she added, "There's a money prize of half a million yen for the winner."

Naoko's eyes gleamed. "Oho? I wasn't aware of that."

"Well, now you are," Leiko said uncertainly, wondering just what her motive was. "I'm surprised you don't know."

"I was only informed of it yesterday. Before that, I didn't even know it existed," she answered bluntly. "But I wasn't told of any money prize..." she trailed off. Then again, she had shot Sumire down before the girl could fully elaborate. So there was a money prize, huh? But still, did she really want to compete? Surely, she and Sumire would have little chance of winning, even if they competed as two separate entries. And she knew how much Sumire hated being on the stage alone.

"Are you some kind of hermit?" Midori asked loudly. "Everybody's heard of the Sendai Standoff!"

Naoko raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the green-haired girl. "Last time I checked, I constituted as part of 'everybody' so apparently not everyone's heard of it."

"Why were you asking?" Ayame wondered. "Do you want to enter too?"

Naoko hesitated. Then: "No."

Ayame relaxed. "Ah, shame, then."

Naoko was quite out of it for the rest of the club meeting, even as Tachibana came in and announced that they would be trying to out for parts for the Cinderella pantomime in the near future.

* * *

It was dark when Naoko returned home, having been on an evening shift. Sighing. She threw the house keys on the nearest raised flat surface and stalked into the kitchen for some dinner.

Tadashi and Sumire had already staked claim on last night leftovers and had devoured the little they had left so Naoko was left to be content with some cold bread and warm water.

She searched for some butter in the fridge only to find out that there was none left. Grumbling, she added butter to the grocery list stuck up on the fridge door.

She was halfway done with her improvised dinner when her phone buzzed, indicating that she had a new text. She blinked at it. That was rare. Tadashi and Sumire had to be in bed by now, so it couldn't be either of them. Dr. Hamilton, perhaps? But why would he be texting her this late?

Naoko picked up her phone and unlocked it, shoving the rest of the bread in her mouth as she did so.

"Kageyama?" she read aloud.

And it wasn't the first text he had sent her. The first dated all the way back to late afternoon, where she had her phone on silent because of work and classes.

_Is he cashing in his favor?_

The first couple of messages were just him awkwardly greeting her and wondering if he was texting the right number. She had to smirk at that. Though she hardly knew the guy, this was most definitely Kageyama and not some kind of impersonator. It had Kageyama practically written all over it.

Her heart nearly stopped when she read the most recent messages.

_I've figured out what I want from you._

_Enter the Sendai Standoff with Sumire-chan._

_Please._

She turned off her phone for the night.

 


	14. Naivety

_**A/N: Again, I listened to "** _ **_Most Beautiful & Emotional Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso OST IMO" as I wrote this AS WELL AS "STUDIO GHIBLI VIOLIN MEDLEY Ft. Albert Chang" by JuNCurryAhn for the violin scene. The medley the sisters play is exactly the same as the latter video (all songs are in the exact same order as well so, if you want the full experience, put it on)._ **

* * *

_We all start out the same_

_With simple naïve trust_

_Shielded from the many ways_

_That life's not fair or just_

—  _Tempest Shadow_

* * *

The bell above the door jingled, indicating that someone had entered. A wiry middle-aged man looked up from his volleyball magazine, his moustache twitching as he recognised the girl who had entered.

She dipped her head politely to him. "Good morning, Yamaguchi-san."

"Makoshima-san," he replied in greeting, putting down his magazine. "How can I help you today? You're awfully early."

Naoko took a moment to yawn before answering, "What's the best quality violin you have right now?"

* * *

Sumire's heart nearly stopped as the read the message that her sister had sent her via text.

Her hand trembled and she nearly dropped her bottle of fruity soda water as her eyes followed the clean, concise words over and over again.

The bottle hit the ground with a resounding  _thud!_

Things just got real.

_Come to Aobajosai at lunchtime. We're going to need to squeeze in as much practice time as we can. There's a bike rental shop just opposite your school, right?_

* * *

Within fifteen minutes, Sumire had biked all the way to Aobajosai, scurrying through the courtyard and into the main building.

"Nee-chan!" she called as students filed out of their classrooms, on their way to their designated lunch spots. "Naoko-nee!" An overwhelming feeling nearly knocked her off her feet. Prior to this, she would never have dared to draw attention to herself in such a way.

Her violin jostled in her case but she knew that there would be no real damage done if any at all.

"Sumire-chan?"

Sumire screeched to a halt at that familiar voice. She turned, craning her neck upward at a brunet. "Oh, it's you, Oikawa-san."

Oikawa stopped in front of her, smiling. "What brings you here, Sumire-chan? Did you come to see your sister?"

"Yes, actually." Sumire grinned, hardly able to contain her excitement. "Do you know where her classroom is, Oikawa-san?"

"Eh? Don't you remember? She always sits on the roof during lunch hour." He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment. "Such a bad student... always breaking the rules."

Sumire faltered only a bit. "Ah. I assumed that it was a one time thing." She glanced around. "I guess there isn't much space in the school. Naoko-nee always did prefer the outdoors." She shook her head. "Never mind. Thanks anyway, Oikawa-san."

"Hold on." Oikawa strode after her, easily catching up and walking side by side with her. The action garnered some attention from some of the other students but they quickly turned away. "Does your sister know you're here?"

"Of course! She's the one that invited me."

Oikawa nearly tripped over himself. "Invited you? The last time you came, she wasn't happy at all."

"She gave me permission this time so it's fine. We're going to..." she trailed off, uncertain if Naoko would mind Oikawa knowing or not.

She cursed in her head when Oikawa's eyes glimmered with interest. "Oho? Do tell, Sumire-chan~"

Sumire cast him a doubtful glance. "I don't know if nee-chan would want you to know or not."

"Aw, come on, Sumire-chan! I'm sure Mako-chan wouldn't care." He gave her his best smile, which would have been impressing if not for the context behind him.

She tried to walk faster but he easily kept her pace. Accepting defeat, she spoke, "If you want to know so badly, then Naoko-nee can tell you."

Oikawa hummed. "Okay. I was going to sit with the team today, but I'm sure they won't mind. Lead the way, Sumire-chan!"

At this point, Sumire was well aware that Oikawa wouldn't let up. So, shrugging, she continued on her way to the rooftop, Oikawa glued to her side. It was amusing really — she knew that if she were to look at them with an outsider's perspective she would see an overprotective big brother hovering over his little sister.

_It's weird,_ she thought. With great effort, she sorted through her memories to try and find any similar impressions regarding Tadashi. There were none.  _You can call me Tooru-nii,_ he had said to her the first time they had crossed paths. She chewed on her lip, unsure if his offer was genuine or not.

"Hey, Oikawa-san?"

Oikawa angled his head to her and Sumire could see pleasant surprise in his eyes. Obviously, he had not been expecting her to start a conversation with him. She couldn't blame him really — she had treated him rather coldly during their first meeting. He was the type to push boundaries and Sumire was extremely wary of people like him.

"Do you have any older siblings?"

He scrutinized her. "Why?"

"Just wondering."  _Are they close?_

"I have a sister," he said, albeit a bit reluctantly. "You know, Sumire-chan, you're going to have to tell me about your family if I tell you about Hotaru. It's only fair."

An eye for an eye, she supposed. "Fine. But nothing too personal. Are you and Hotaru close?"

"Of course," he said flippantly. "Both my mother and father work so it was mostly up to Hotaru to raise me." He winked at her. "Personally, I think she did a wonderful job. But it wasn't one-sided — she benefited greatly from bringing me up."

"Oh? How?"

Oikawa looked proudly at her. "Meet her husband and you'll see. Obviously, I influenced her  _wonderful_ taste in men."

Sumire blinked at him once, then twice. "I'm going to ignore how oddly incestuous that sounds."

Oikawa choked on his own saliva. "Sumire-chan!" he gasped in mock horror, sounding like he could barely contain a laugh. "Kids your age aren't supposed to know about that stuff. I thought you were an adorable, pure angel."

"I am an adorable, pure angel," she said innocently, looking at anywhere but his face. "Ask anyone."

"I wonder if oyster-chan knows just how demented you are."

"Excuse me?" Sumire deadpanned, confused. "Do you have some kind of seafood fetish?"

"Ack! You have such a foul mouth, Sumire-chan!" He pinched her cheek between his fingers and she spluttered, tensing before melting into his touch.  _Huh._ When was the last time someone had touched her so affectionately? Even if it was something as painful and enduring as cheek-pinching coming from a guy she barely knew. "And I thought oyster-chan was bad."

"Why do you keep calling my sister 'oyster-chan'?" she asked, remembering how disinterested Naoko had looked when he called her that. "Is there something I'm missing?"

He released her and said, "You don't need to know about that." He raised an eyebrow. "But you're not getting out of our deal that easily. Tell me about your siblings."

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

They started the trudge up the stairwell leading to the rooftop. The one that the teachers never monitored, blissfully unaware that Naoko sat up there every day.

"Why is your sister so..." Oikawa struggled with the word. "... like what she is? I know that she fights. But why?"

_What happened to nothing personal?_ "I'm not answering that, Oikawa-san. That's something you have to ask Naoko-nee. And before you say anything," she paused, "even I don't know the whole story. So don't bother. I'm not the person that can give you adequate answers."

Oikawa sighed. "Never mind, then. What about your brother? How does he treat you?"

_Treat me?_ "Ah, we don't talk all that much. He's usually just in his room all day. But he treats me as every brother should treat his sister."

"He doesn't bully you or anything, right?"

Her temper flared. "Of course not! Tadashi-nii is the best big brother I could ever ask for. What are you trying to say, Oikawa-san?"  _To think I was actually considering taking up his stupid offer._

Oikawa opened the door with ease. "Calm down, Sumire-chan. I didn't mean it that way." Another award-winning smile along with a victory sign. "Now let's go see your sister."

* * *

Oikawa had nearly gagged and had resisted the urge to shout "bullshit!" when Sumire proclaimed  _Makoshima Tadashi_ of all people to be 'the best big brother'. She couldn't be blamed, he supposed; she had the misfortune of being related to him. She had told him herself that she didn't have the full story of whatever had happened in the past — incidents which Oikawa was sure was connected with the violence that Tadashi had treated with him. Connected with how Naoko could act so callous at times.

Things had happened to  _make_ them like that. They all started out the same, with simple, naive trust. So just  _what_ had gone so wrong?

Whatever had happened, Oikawa was sure that Tadashi's own problems were the root of everybody else's problems. He was just that kind of guy.

At least that was what he told himself. Now that Tadashi was on his team — the only reason he had allowed him to join was because he wished to keep his enemy close — things were starting to work in reverse.

Was it possible to hate someone less the more you spend time with them? When you got to know them and their family more?

_"It was elementary,"_ Iwaizumi had said to him sometime ago,  _"We were all idiots. I don't know if you remember, but you set the teacher's shoes on fire on the first day of grade four."_

_"You're never going to move if you keep doing this."_

_"You are terrible."_

_"You're only using him and his sister to get revenge on him."_

Oikawa loved Iwaizumi as much as the next person, but right now he was really wishing that his voice would shut up. He didn't need anyone — not even Iwaizumi — to point out just how  _terrible_ and  _atrocious_ what he was doing was.

Then again, Iwaizumi had a good point.

"You brought Oikawa?"

Naoko's voice brought him back to reality.

"I couldn't stop him," Sumire said apologetically. "Sorry."

But Naoko just waved her off. "No need. As long as you don't mind him listening, it's fine."

"Don't speak as if I'm not here," Oikawa said with a boyish pout. "So what are you doing? Sumire-chan has been so vague with me~"  _What happened to calling me Tooru as well?_

Naoko and Sumire exchanged a quick glance before the former nodded slowly.

"We're both going to be practicing for a music competition," Naoko informed him, gesturing to the violin that lay on the floor beside her. "Speaking of, Sumire-chan, are you okay with what I've chosen? We still haven't submitted an entry yet so it's not fixed."

Sumire shook her head. "It's fine. I love it, actually."

Oikawa could only suppose that whatever they were talking about had taken place when he was having an argument with Iwaizumi in his head (albeit it was mostly one-sided). "Can I stay?" he asked, leaning against the railing. "It'd be good to have an audience, no?"

Sumire opened her mouth to protest but Naoko cut her off.

"As long as you're not disruptive." She turned to where Sumire was huffing. "I know you don't like audiences but if we're going to do this, you're going to have to get used to it."

"Okay, okay..."

As Sumire prepared her violin, Naoko went up to Oikawa, her own violin in hand.

"Please don't make any unnecessary comments," she requested, her gaze flicking to where Sumire was tuning her violin. "She's... shy."

"I noticed," Oikawa said lightly. "No need to worry, Mako-chan. Don't you have any faith in me?"

She deadpanned at him. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"You sure don't act like it."

He waved flippantly at her. "You worry too much, oyster-chan. I'll behave."

"Please do. Or else I'll be throwing dog treats at you, you dumb chihuahua."

"I'm ready!" Sumire called to Naoko, her chin already resting on the instrument. "What first?"

"Merry Go Round of Life," Naoko answered, joining her sister. "You know how it goes right?"

They began to talk in more hushed voices and Oikawa, bored, yawned.  _When are they going to start already?_ From what he could gather, they seemed to be doing some kind of Studio Ghibli medley. The only movies that were a major part of his childhood were exclusively alien movies but Studio Ghibli's works were popular enough to reach even the likes of Oikawa.

The talking stopped and Oikawa snapped to attention, watching Naoko like a hawk as she drew the first note of Merry Go Round of Life. The violin whined, cutting through the silence. A tune that could only be described as waltz-like filled Oikawa's ears and he had to admit that she was  _good._ This wasn't like the first time where she had played he and Iwaizumi Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto or some  _boring, classical_ shit like that. She had done so with a straight face and the playing had been average at best, but now...

_Damn._

Breathing in and out, Sumire lifted her bow and caressed the strings, the sound harmoniously combining with the part that Naoko was playing. The melody was lilting and brought a sense of nostalgia to him.

_The name suits the piece,_ he thought, his fingers subconsciously tapping across the metal railing to the euphony.

They slowed down their playing and the music was subsequently changed, snapping Oikawa out of his reverie. The transformation was not as smooth as it should have been but they quickly adjusted to the new tempo. Whatever song they were playing now was just as good as Merry Go Round of Life: It reminded him of a summer's day or something like that. He could almost hear the cicadas chirping along, though the buzzing cacophony of those cicadas was most definitely absent in the early autumn.

It changed again, the transition smooth this time — and faster.

When people performed in groups — whether it be groups of two, three, or a hundred, Oikawa tended to only focus on one person. And this was no exception. Though Naoko's playing was undoubtedly beautiful, likely having practiced and honed the art for a great deal of time, Sumire was  _even better._

Naoko was classically trained.

Sumire probably was as well but...

She had passion. She  _played_ with passion.

Naoko didn't.

One might even call Sumire a —

_Genius,_ Oikawa finished the thought, frowning ever so slightly. It was no secret that he held no fondness for geniuses, whether it be for volleyball or otherwise. But the brief distaste for Sumire's musical genius vanished as quickly as it came. Oikawa relaxed.  _Sumire-chan isn't like my irritating kohai. Not every genius is like Tobio-chan._ He smiled to himself.  _I bet if they met they wouldn't get along at all._ Sumire was nice. Kageyama wasn't.

_And whose fault is that?_ Inner Iwaizumi snarked.

_Don't be mean to yourself, Iwa-chan,_ Oikawa replied back internally.

He could almost hear Iwaizumi growling and imagined his best friend catapulting a volleyball into his face for the umpteenth time. Oikawa blocked the little voices in his head out and reassured himself:  _Sumire-chan and Tobio-chan aren't the same. They don't even know each other. And if they did, I'm sure that there would be nothing but mutual hatred._

As she played, Sumire sneezed, nearly messing up the note she was on. She sniffled and hastily adapted, her arm quivering slightly.

A few seconds later, the medley finished and the girls relaxed their arms, holding their instruments against their side.

"You did a lot better than I expected," Oikawa said, gravitating toward them before Naoko could even get a word in. "Good job, oyster-chan; Sumire-chan."

Sumire choked and spluttered and Naoko sighed and slapped her younger sister on the back.

"I second that," she added, sounding just a bit bitter. "I can't believe you've never actually played any of that before."

_Wait. What._ "I don't believe that," Oikawa interjected.

"Well, believe it, because it's true," Naoko stated, glancing up at him.

_How is that possible? Even if she is a genius, how is that even possible?_ He shook his head in disbelief. "Another annoying genius, it seems..."

Naoko elbowed him, shooting him a withering look.

"I play mostly by ear," Sumire explained, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground. "I can read sheet music but... I don't find it very difficult to listen and play as well. I've heard all of those songs somewhere before and I just used my memory."

"What about you, Mako-chan?" Oikawa said to Naoko. "Are you some kind of genius also?"

She shook her head. "No. The Studio Ghibli Medley was one of the final pieces I learned before... my violin broke. My parents didn't bother replacing it and my lessons stopped."

"Ah."  _I always did wonder where the White Monster got it from. So who remarried to Naoko's mother or father?_

"I'll talk to Umeko-san tonight to see if we can practice more at home," Naoko said suddenly. "For now, let's eat."

Sumire snapped to attention, grinning, her eyes filled with an uncertain hope. "O-okay, nee-chan!"

* * *

Naoko yawned as she stepped out of the school building and headed toward the front gates. The sky was orange and Naoko would have to quickly head home and get changed for yet another evening shift with Umeko. Hopefully, if things went to plan, she'd be able to convince Umeko to let her leave for a while to practice with Sumire. The maid cafe wasn't particular busy all the time and Umeko was in the process of hiring new staff so they would be able to cope without her for a bit.

"Mako-chan!"

Naoko whipped around to see Oikawa jogging up to her, water bottle in hand. His shirt clung onto his skin from sweat — he had probably just come out of volleyball practice.

"Tooru," she acknowledged, the name rolling off her tongue strangely.

He raised his eyebrows. "Now it's Tooru? Why not before?"

She shrugged. "I guess because now is a better time."

He made a noncommittal noise and said, "I never got to ask but what kind competition are you entering?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Why not? Got something to hide, Mako-chan? Anything illegal?" he teased.

"Of course not. If you really must know, it's the Sendai Standoff at the Autumn Festival."

"Ah. Only a quick bus ride then."

Naoko frowned. "Don't tell me..."

"I'll be cheering you on, Mako-chan."

"You don't have to —"

"Oi! Shittykawa! What are you doing out there?! It doesn't take that long to get water!"

Iwaizumi's voice echoed throughout the courtyard and Oikawa looked at Mako-chan apologetically. "Looks like I have to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Mako-chan."

"Wait! You don't have to —"

He was already jogging back to the courts.

"— come..."

Oikawa left her standing silently, the only noise being the cawing of a flock of birds flying overhead into the sunset.

* * *

"Nakamura-san!"

Aiko Nakamura turned to see none other than Sumire Makoshima run down the halls toward her, either totally oblivious or uncaring about the dirty looks doctors and nurses were giving her.

"Good evening, Sumire-san," she greeted, blinking in surprise. "What brings you here? It's not Friday and visiting hours are almost over."

"Almost, right? That means I can go and see obaa-chan, right?"

Nakamura flipped through her clipboard, a pang hitting her heart as she read the most recent update about Honoka Makoshima. "Ah, Sumire-san —" She cut herself off, unsure with what she should say next.

"Please?"

The girl looked so excited, so ecstatic, that Nakamura could only nod, tight-lipped. "Okay. You can go in. I'm sure that Makoshima-san will love to see you."

"You come too, Nakamura-san," Sumire said, pulling at the nurse's smooth, sterilized hand.

"Oh, er, are you sure?"

"Yes!" Sumire beamed up at her and Nakamura felt her heart twist further, knowing that her current mood would not be forever. But she had never seen Sumire look so  _goddamn happy_ before and —

"Okay then." Cursing herself, Nakamura let Sumire guide her into room 1408, where Honoka Makoshima was currently staying.

"Sumi-kun!" Honoka gasped, surprise lighting up in her eyes. "I wasn't expecting you tonight."

"I came to surprise you," Sumire said. "I hope that you don't mind Nakamura-san being here, but she's been looking after you so well and I —"

"Slow down, child," Honoka chided gently. "Of course Nakamura-san is allowed in here. But what's the occasion?" A smile found its way onto her wrinkled face. "Whatever it is, I'm so glad to see you looking so happy."

Nakamura found herself tuning out as Sumire chattered on and on about what had happened today, only catching earfuls of "the Sendai Standoff" and "Naoko-nee agreeing" and "Tadashi-nii's upcoming twentieth birthday".

Five minutes later, Nakamura glanced down at her watch and opened her mouth to inform Sumire that she was now outstaying her welcome. But Honoka beat her to it.

"You'd best be going now, Sumi-kun." Her fragile arms trembling as she lifted them up, she gave a painstaking embrace for Sumire. "I'm so proud of you. I love you so much, my dear."

"I love you too, Baba." Sumire planted a kiss on her grandma's cheeks and Nakamura felt her heart clench even more painfully than the two previous times.

Soon, Sumire was gone, and, if the outcries from various doctors and nurses were any indication, was running down the halls again. Nakamura shook her head and wrung her hands.

"Makoshima-san," she began, "are you going to tell Sumire-san —"

"In due time," Honoka cut her off, frowning. "Not a word to her, Nakamura-san. She doesn't have to know yet."

A tense pause.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know," Honoka admitted, leaning back on her bed. "I'm not sure if I have to courage to, if I'm being honest with myself."

"She deserves to know," Nakamura ground out, fingering a piece of her hair. "She's a good kid. I don't want to see her get hurt."

Honoka turned her weary eyes to the nurse. "She's going to be hurt no matter what I do. For now, I just want to see her happy a bit longer. I can't tell her about my worsening health."

_Can't or won't?_ Nakamura wanted to cry out in frustration.

Honoka must have sensed her ire as she said mildly, "You've served me well, Nakamura-san. Thank you. There's not much you can do prolong my life."

"You have a few months," Nakamura stated, clenching her hands into tight fists. "At best."

"I know." A somber smile graced her worn features. "Nakamura-san, I have something to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Get me a pencil and three sheets of paper please."

"... What size? A4?"

"Doesn't matter."

So Nakamura exited the room with the task at the front of her mind, her heart heavier than when she had entered.

 


	15. P-P-P-P-Preperation

_Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams._

—  _Donovan Bailey_

* * *

"Hey, Iwa-chan?"

Iwaizumi turned his head toward Oikawa as the latter bit down on his milk bread, both having just come out of the gym after an afternoon of volleyball practice.

"Hn?"

"Are you free this Saturday?" He took another bite of his bread—while the treat wasn't as fresh as it could have been, having sat untouched in his bag all afternoon—he seemed as if were enjoying it nonetheless.

"Yeah, why? Didn't you cancel practice? Don't tell me you're changing your mind again."

"I'm not that fickle, Iwa-chan," Oikawa protested, shouldering Iwaizumi along the sidewalk, much to the other boy's annoyance. "It's just that Mako-chan and her cute little sister are competing in some music competition and I promised her that I'd be there."

"Eh?" Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "Why did you promise her that?" His voice grew frosty. "I thought she was just another tool for you to use in your path for vengeance." His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well..." Oikawa trailed off. Suddenly, his milk bread didn't seem so delectable anymore, the food growing dry and pasty in his mouth. He forced himself to swallow. "Iwa-chan," he blurted. Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows. "Do you think I should stop?"

"Stop what? Manipulating her family like the puppet master you are?"

"Iwa-chan! Don't be mean when I'm trying to have a serious heart-to-heart with you. Don't get me wrong, I still hate him." He glared at the floor. "But..."

"Maybe it's time to move on?" Iwaizumi suggested.

But Oikawa shook his head stubbornly. "I was thinking more on the lines of hating him quietly."

Iwaizumi nodded slowly. "Considering your other option is to actively seek revenge, this is definitely the better idea. The girls aren't part of whatever quarrel you have with their brother." His voice grew more aggressive. "So just stop it already."

"Iwa-chan—"

"I always try you support whatever decisions you make, even the stupid ones." He scowled at Oikawa, who flinched. "It's my job. But you make that job very,  _very_ difficult. You hear me, Shittykawa?!" He grabbed Oikawa by the shirt collar. "So just stop. I've had enough of your bullshit. I don't care about the White Monster, but stop being so two-faced. They don't deserve it."

"... You're right."

Iwaizumi scoffed, releasing him. "Of course I am. Now what's this about a music competition?"

"They're having the Sendai Standoff at the Autumn Festival this August," Oikawa told him, fixing his shirt collar so that it wouldn't appear so crinkled. "Can you go with me?"

"Yeah. I was gonna go check the festival out anyway so it's not big deal."

"Yay! Thanks, Iwa-chan~"

"Get off me! And don't slack off on practice! The Spring Tournament is coming up!" He shoved Oikawa off him, grumbling.

"Yes,  _kaa-san_."

Iwaizumi threw a volleyball at the back of his head, making him yelp.

* * *

"From the top, Leiko," Yoko coached, waving her hands about. "One, two, three—go!"

Leiko opened her mouth and poured her heart and soul into the karaoke machine.

Behind Yoko, the calendar flapped from the breeze a nearby electric fan was produced, causing the current date to continuously be switched from the ninth to the tenth.

* * *

"He'll get the hang of it soon," Sumire reassured Kageyama. "Yamaguchi-kun is already a good job at his jump float serve."

"Yeah, but it needs to be better in time for the tournament," Kageyama insisted.

"It  _will_ be. Chill out, Kageyama. You're getting worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?!" He narrowed his eyes at her. "... Are you just trying to be a brat again?"

She shot him a grin. "Maybe."

Kageyama glared at her. "Sumire, you midget! Runt!"

"Oho~ Kageyama's using different insults!"

He slapped the bag of jerky from her hands, much to her dismay.

* * *

"You have to change the subject of the formula," Naoko instructed Tadashi, peering over his shoulder.

Tadashi gave her a weary glance. Their bond was not yet completely repaired. But it was getting better. "I know that, Naachan."

"Then why are you just staring at the question? Start doing it."

Tadashi sighed in frustration before hunching over his worksheet and scrawling across the paper with his pencil, Naoko closely observing as he solved problem after problem with a newfound vigor.

"That's better," Naoko praised, setting down a plate of fried rice on his study table. "Here. I know you haven't eaten lunch today."

"Th... thank you, Naachan." Guilt resonated in his tone. "I'm sorry if I've been bad."

Naoko sighed deeply. "You haven't done anything wrong. I just wish you would learn to use your heart less sometimes." She patted his shoulder. "Now eat up." She moved away from him and to the door. Her hand hovered above the handle. "Hey, Tadashi-nii?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget... that I'm here for you."

He smiled weakly. "Okay."

* * *

Yoko was practically jumping up and down as Leiko went even  _faster._

"YOU CAN DO IT!" Yoko shrieked excitedly. Beside her, Naruto and Sasuke were barking, having sensed their master's elation. "COME ON, LEIKO, KEEP SPITTIN' THAT HOT FIRE!"

Leiko grinned into the microphone, out of sight, and did as her sister asked.

* * *

"Come on, Yamaguchi!" Nishinoya shouted across the court to the boy who was fidgeting with a volleyball. "Serve!"

Exhaling, Yamaguchi served.

The ball flew over the net—

And into Noya's waiting arms. It rebounded where the setter position would be.

Yamaguchi subtly wilted.

"Ah, it's okay!" Suddenly, Noya had an arm around Yamaguchi and was giving him a fond noogie. "It's still a work in progress! You'll be able to do that jump float serve perfectly in no time!"

* * *

"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa set the ball to Iwaizumi, who spiked it down to the other side of the court with a resounding  _slam!_

Kindaichi dived for it but the ball had already rebounded up into the air.

"Nice attack!"

* * *

Midori looked as if she were going to explode from happiness as she admired her shiny green hair in the mirror, styled into cute, fashionable buns with twin tails extending from them.

She looked just like her favorite anime character: Sailor Moon.

"Thank you so much, kaa-chan!" she warbled, wiping tears of joy away from the corners of her eyes with the sleeves of her yukata.

Her mother brushed her bangs away and kissed her temple. "You look so beautiful." She gave her daughter a watery smile. "My beautiful daughter...!" The woman touched a small scar on Midori's forehead, where a rock had struck her eons ago.

"Aw, don't cry, kaa-chan! I love you!"

In the doorway, her father smiled as he watched his daughter and wife burst into tears together before Midori laughed shakily.

"Kaa-chan! I'm gonna ruin my makeup..."

"We can always put it on again, Mimi."

* * *

Naoko tried not to look too much awed by her little sister's skill and talent as Sumire did her solo part of the medley, one that they had decided to write in. As she listened, she turned her head to where the clock hung on the wall.

It was nearing midnight.

She raised her hand. Sumire stopped her playing with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Did I play something wrong, nee-chan? I promise I'll do better!"

But Naoko shook her head, a small smile on her face. "No need." She spared the clock one last glance. "I think we're ready, Sumire-chan."

* * *

"Did you hear? The violin up on the roof has started up again!"

"I know! Is the violin ghost back?"

"Enough!" The teacher barked. "No more gossiping! I don't care if it's Friday or that you've already completed your finals. It's time to do work. None of you are slacking off!"

Oikawa grinned to himself before proceeding to solve some complex algebra equations.

* * *

_It's here._

Sumire shivered in anticipation as she, Naoko and Tadashi stepped off the bus along with a dozen more passengers that all dispersed into smaller groups. They made their way through Kotodai Park.

In the distance, Sumire could see a wide stage where important-looking staff members were setting up for the Sendai Standoff. The sight made it  _all too real_ and the girl felt her stomach lurch.

"Sumire-chan!" Naoko called. "We can admire the sights later! We need to sign in or we won't be allowed to participate!"

"A-ah, right!" Ignoring her uncomfortable belly, Sumire chased after her sister and brother until she was finally by their side again. "Sorry..."

Naoko ignored her apology and instead picked up the pace, forcing Sumire to work her shorter legs even harder, scowling at the way Tadashi seemed unaffected by the sudden quickening of pace.

_Stupid long legs..._ She glanced down at her own legs.  _Stupid short legs!_

"There's so many people," Tadashi murmured.

"Unsurprising," Naoko said, glancing about and slowing down just for a few moments to take in her surroundings. "It's beautiful. No wonder it's so popular."

"The Pageant of Starlight is supposed to be even more popular," Sumire piped. But, once again, they ignored her in favor of admiring the view. Sighing, she accepted defeat.

"Yoohoo! Mako-chan, Dashi-chan, Sumire-chan!"

"Ah." Naoko hardly blinked as Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime approached them. "To...Tooru. You didn't have to come, you know."

"Don't be silly, Mako-chan," he said dismissively. "Besides, I'm here anyway and so is Iwa-chan. You're stuck with us."

"Unfortunately," Iwaizumi added wryly. "Seriously, if this guy is bothering you, just tell me. I haven't punched him in ages."

"Mean, Iwa-chan! That is seriously so mean!"

"Tch..."

As they walked to the stage together, Iwaizumi and Tadashi making conversation while Sumire searched the crowd for Kageyama, Oikawa held the potato twist he had toward Naoko. "Try some, Mako-chan."

"Hah? Why? It's your food," she stated, tilting her head to one side. "You're not obligated to share with me."

"But I want to," Oikawa said simply, pushing the foodstuff closer to her mouth. "Just take a bite."

Naoko stared at it wordlessly. Then she lifted her hand an peeled some of the potato off, popping it into her mouth. Oikawa brought the potato skewer closer to him and blinked at it before turning his gaze to Naoko questioningly.

She stared back. "What? Did you really think I was going to bite into your food? That's unhygienic."

Oikawa shrugged and sighed, shaking his head as if to say  _well it was worth a try._

"Thank you though," Naoko continued unexpectedly. "I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

"Ack! No wonder you're so skinny. You shouldn't skip such an important meal, Mako-chan. Go and buy a burger or something."

"I didn't bring any money. But really, it's no big deal. I don't miss breakfast all the time." She shot a semi-annoyed glance at Sumire, who laughed nervously. " _Someone_ refused to get out of bed and I had to drag Tadashi-nii up as well. He's always been terrible at waking up early on weekends."

"I don't blame him," said Oikawa. "There's a reason why practice is voluntary on weekends. Not all of our members attend."

"Hu? And here I was, thinking that your lives revolve around volleyball. Isn't it a bit lazy not to practice whenever you can?"

Oikawa laughed lightly. "Mako-chan, there's a difference between slacking off and resting." Understanding flashed through her eyes and she nodded. "Don't worry, you're not the first one to ask me this."

"Figures."

Suddenly, Sumire reached and pulled off a piece from Oikawa's potato twist.

"Hey!"

Sumire shrugged at his protest. "What? I'm hungry too, you know."

"May I have some too, Oikawa-kun?" Tadashi asked, bashfully. "We all had to leave on short notice or else we would have missed the bus..."

As a cherry on top, Iwaizumi grabbed some from the bottom of Oikawa's snack and popped it into his mouth, smirking.

"Argh!" Huffing, Oikawa basically shoved the potato twist into Tadashi's waiting hands. "Here! Take it! Just take all of it!"

"Really?! Th-thank you, Oikawa-kun!" Tadashi was absolutely beaming and wasted no time biting down on where Oikawa had already bitten.

Sumire cringed.

So did Naoko.

"Tadashi-nii," Naoko began.

"Did you want some more, Naachan?"

Naoko cringed even further at his wide eyes and slackened her pace so that she was closer to Sumire. "Thank you, but no thank you."

Sumire patted her back sympathetically.

And so, the five arrived together at the stage. To the side, what seemed to be a registration table was currently being crowded around by all sorts of people. As the neared the table, some of the people dispersed, now wearing some kind of pass around their neck, to which Sumire stared at curiously.

"Geez, isn't there a line?" Oikawa complained. "How do things even get done around here?"

"It's more a chaotic order sort of thing," Naoko observed. "You are dealing with musicians, after all, Tooru."

As they waited (or, rather, milled around) Sumire noticed out of the corner of her eye a rather unsightly girl staring straight at their group. She was chubbier than the average Japanese girl, pimple-faced, and carried a flute in her hands, which she fiddled with. Around her neck, she wore a camera.

"Are you sure we're at the right place?" Oikawa muttered to Iwaizumi, who shrugged.

"How would I know? I don't usually go to the Sendai Standoff."

"Hold on, I'll ask," said Naoko, pushing through the crowd to get to where a fat man was manning the table, dabbing his sweat away with a handkerchief. "Excuse me..."

While Naoko conferred with the man, Sumire could feel the girl—who she had dubbed Camera-chan—eyeballing her from where she was standing. Starting to sweat, Sumire's hair stuck to the back of her neck.

_What does she want from me?_ she thought frantically.  _And where the hell is Kageyama?!_ She had messaged him multiple times only to get a vague  _I'm coming_ or something along those lines. She wasn't bothered to unlock her phone and check  _again._

"Are you okay, Sumire-chan?" Tadashi asked, concerned.

"Oh,er, yes. It's just a bit heated..."

"Heated?" Oikawa butted in. "How? It's chilly today."

"Um..."

Sumire turned her body to where Camera-chan was still observing them with doe-eyes. She had the sort of droopy eyebrows which made her look sad all the time. Camera-chan was undeniably cute in her own way—a lovely marshmallow girl.

_But why the hell is she still watching us?_ Sumire shuddered discretely.  _Creepy..._

"Is something bothering you, Sumire-chan?" Iwaizumi inquired.

_Yes._ "No," she lied, feeling a bit guilty for lying to Iwaizumi, who she probably felt more comfortable with than Oikawa or even Tadashi at this moment. That potato twist scene would not exit her mind.

"Is it that creepy girl watching you?" Oikawa asked, having noticed Camera-chan.

Sumire tensed before relaxing. "You noticed."

"Of course! She's so blatantly looking at us." He smirked. "I know I'm cute but—"

"Don't even finish that," Iwaizumi growled.

"Ack! Calm down, Iwa-chan—"

"She's coming over to us," Tadashi informed, now looking distinctly more uncomfortable now that he too had acknowledged Camera-chan.

"Shit!" Sumire swore, garnering the attention of Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "What do we do?"

"We'll hear her out and see what she wants," Oikawa said, and Sumire breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had someone who was experienced with dealing with... uh... girls. Even if that person was Oikawa.

"Careful," said Iwaizumi, frowning slightly. "I don't think she's here for your autograph."

"I'm not  _that_ conceited," Oikawa protested. "I never even said—"

"You were thinking it."

"Iwa-chan!"

Camera-chan was now standing in front of them. Sumire sweated even more than before because  _holy shit she was even creepier close up with those wide, way too big eyes._

"He..." she breathed.

"He?" Iwaizumi echoed quietly.

All of them were tense as they strained their ears to hear what this girl had to say.

"Hello."

If this were some kind of anime, Sumire was sure that all of them would have fallen backwards in exasperation.

Oikawa flashed her a grin. "Hi! Did you need something?"

"Oh, um..." She looked down and didn't look back up again.

At that moment, Naoko chose to return, looking a bit ruffled.

"We're at the right place but apparently he's on his lunch break. We're going to have to wait a bit longer, Sumire-chan," she addressed Sumire. "Dammit, and we missed breakfast for this bullshit too..."

"Cute!" Camera-chan suddenly blurted, scaring the life out of Sumire—she jumped what felt like four feet in the air.

"I don't think she means you, Iwa-chan," Oikawa joked, nudging his best friend.

Iwaizumi whacked him across the head, looking like he was one insult away from socking him in the gut. And he probably would have if the area wasn't so full of witnesses.

Ignoring the commotion between Iwaizumi and Oikawa, Camera-chan suddenly went up to Naoko and clutched her hands. Sumire was only relieved that Naoko didn't slap her away despite being extremely capable of doing so and even  _more._

"Yes?" Naoko said, her voice filled with icy politeness. "Did you need something... ah..."

"Mizushima Tsubaki!" the girl blurted, her eyes shining with admiration. "You're so beautiful!" She ducked her head shyly. "All of you are so beautiful!"

"What?" Iwaizumi deadpanned, his hand enveloped around a whining Oikawa's face. "Like this idiot here needs his ego fed any more."

Camera-chan—Mizushima— lifted up her namesake (in Sumire's mind) and blushed cutely. "Do you mind... if I take a picture of all of you? Standing together? I've never met such beautiful people before."

"Sure!" Oikawa agreed immediately, lifting his hand up in a victory sign and grinning like there was no tomorrow. "If you want me to sign it too, you can just ask."

"Oi! I never agreed to this," Iwaizumi grumbled as Oikawa pulled him close. "Bakawa... I swear..."

"Come on, Mako-chan," Oikawa urged, tugging Naoko by the arm.

"Don't touch me, dumb chihuahua." She snatched her limb from his grasp and stood woodenly beside Oikawa. "Happy?"

"Very. Oyster-chan," he added as an afterthought.

Deciding why the hell not, Sumire shrugged and took her place in front of Iwaizumi, knowing that she was far too short to obscure him completely. Tadashi, on the other hand, towered over both of them—a mix of lean muscle and gangling limbs. Awkwardly, he shuffled behind Iwaizumi and Oikawa, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Mizushima was practically radiating sunshine as the five posed just for her. She looked as if she would have squealed in delight had she not been holding her shiny flute between her teeth, her hands occupied by the camera.

"So beautiful," she whispered as her finger began to lower on the button. "So, so beautiful..." It was hard to speak with the flute in her mouth but she managed anyhow, the words coming out incoherently.

Of course, Oikawa did a bit of extravagant posing, giving Mizushima his trademark peace fingers and devilish smile. Iwaizumi smiled slightly but his eyebrows were tilted downward, giving him a rugged bad-boy kind of look. Naoko merely stared robotically at the lens, a deadpan expression on her visage. Tadashi smiled as well, his awkwardness giving him a rather cute, shy atmosphere. Finally, taking a leaf out of Oikawa's books, Sumire grinned with her teeth—careful not to show  _too much_  teeth—and flashed bunny ears behind Naoko's head (the only person short enough for her to do so).

The camera clicked.

"Let me take a look," Oikawa immediately said, striding over to Mizushima, who was simply swooning at the photo. He smirked, obviously pleased at how it turned out. "Awesome. For once, I'm not the only thing blurry! Can you get this developed for all of us?"

"O-oh, of course!" Mizushima beamed up at him. "You go to Aobajosai right? I'll come over tomorrow!"

"How did you know?" Iwaizumi asked, now beside Oikawa along with the rest of their group.

"The girls at my school always talk about you," Mizushima confessed. "You're very popular. You're Oikawa Tooru from the volleyball magazines, right?"

Oikawa gave her a mock dip of the head. "The one and only. You a fan?"

Naoko snorted in the background and Sumire snickered, making Iwaizumi grin in approval.

Mizushima shook her head. "Eh, no, not really. Sorry..."

Oikawa looked slightly crestfallen but shook it off quickly. "Never mind, never mind."

"Looks like his stupid lunch break is over," Naoko observed, standing on her toes. "Come on, Sumire-chan."

Oikawa said one last goodbye to Mizushima before following the girls to the registration table.

"Godammit," Naoko swore under her breath, being jostled around due to her small size. "Everyone just flocked here as soon as he finished his sandwich..."

"It's still early," Iwaizumi reassured her, checking his watch. "The competition doesn't start until three hours from now."

"Can I go fill up my drink bottle?" Sumire asked Naoko, who nodded impatiently. "Thanks, nee-chan."

Sumire expertly flitted through the crowd, careful not to be pushed over by some overeager competitors. Some of the more uncouth ones cursed at her but she ignored them, her goal in mind for the time being simply  _water._ She had drained the bottle of its last drop back on the bus.

She fought back a yawn as she walked along the cobblestone path.  _Nee-chan made us wake up so early..._ That's when she did yawn, putting her hand to her mouth as she did so, nearly dropping her water bottle.

_Water fountain, water fountain..._ She scanned her surroundings for the same water fountain she had seen on her way in.  _Ah, there it is!_ Smiling to herself, she jogged over to the fountain and proceeded to fill up her bottle. Once she finished, having stopped the water flow at  _just_ the right time for the water to perfectly fit within the container, she unzipped her backpack and put her canteen back inside.

She was about to leave when a rough shout cut through the air.

"Oi, fatso!"

_Uh? Me?_ Confused, she turned her head.  _The hell?_ She glanced down at her body. Straight as a board, no breasts or belly to be sighted.  _Nope. Not me. Then who...?_ Her gaze locked onto where a group of girls were marching to a very familiar girl.

_What?! Is that Mizushima-san?_

Indeed it was. The poor girl looked terrified as she was confronted by her oppressors, fiddling with her flute out of sheer nervousness. Stealthily, Sumire moved behind a golden-leaved zelkova tree—Sendai's icon.

"Just where have you been?!" The lead girl practically spat at Mizushima's face. "We had to give up our place in the registration line because of you!"

_Bullshit,_ Sumire immediately thought.  _Mizushima was with us AT the registration area! How could they have not seen her? Plus, the line isn't even a line!_

"Well?!" The girl shrieked. "Answer me!" Her lip curled into a nasty sneer. "Oh, wait, piggies can't talk, can they? Piggy!"

All the girls howled with laughter as if she had just said the funniest thing in the world.

Behind her tree, Sumire seethed. Yes, Mizushima was a bit of an odd duck, but that was no excuse for them to treat her that way! Her mouth grew dry. Now, if only she could summon up the courage to actually tell them off. But those girls had to all at least be above five foot while she was barely scratching that minimum. If she confronted them now, it was likely she'd just be beaten up. Not to mention there were no adults around.

_Shitshitshit_ —

"I'm sorry," Mizushima sniffed, clutching her flute so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "I-I was taking photos—"

"UGH!" The girl turned her nose up at her. "Of course you were! I swear, if I weren't your friend, I would have broken that piece of shit a long time ago."

_Hah?! Friend?! Is this girl delusional?!_ When Mizushima only nodded silently and wilted under the other girl's glare, Sumire resisted the urge to pound her head into the trunk of the zelkova.  _They are SO not friends! Friends don't treat each other that way!_ Why was nobody questioning her claims? Why wasn't Mizushima doing anything about this? This was probably the most unhealthy friendship to ever exist.

"Huh...? Sumire?"

Sumire nearly shrieked when a hand landed on her shoulder. She whipped around, her face pale, only relaxing when she saw who it was. "Oh! Kageyama...!"

"What are you doing?" Kageyama tilted his head to one side. "You're... hugging the tree?"

Blushing, she immediately let go of the zelkova. "Was not!" She peered back around the tree but the girls were already gone.

And she had done nothing about it. A wave of guilt and shame washed over her but she forced herself to ignore it.

"Where were you?" Sumire asked.

"I missed the first bus and bus after that because I went back inside to get my keys."

Sumire laughed, walking out of the bushes with Kageyama. "Typical."

He flicked her nose in retaliation, making her whine. "Shrimp."

"You're just freakishly tall. Now come on, or else Naoko-nee will be shitting bricks."

Kageyama tried to stifle his laugh; it ended up more like a cross between an explosion and a sneeze.

* * *

"Yo, yo, yo!" Midori, all dressed up in her yukata, pranced over to where more of the drama club members were gathered near a street stall. "You guys came!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Toshio said as the girls greeted each other with kisses and hugs, biting down on his skewer of meat. "You look nice, Midori."

"Thank you! Is everyone here? Where's Leiko?"

"She was here before but had to leave to register," Ayame informed.

"Ooh, okay." Midori glanced around. "What about Naoko?"

"None of us have her contact info," Katsumi said, ashamed. "We don't know if she came or not but I hope she did!"

"Aww." Midori shrugged. "Oh well! Have faith, everyone, I'm sure fate will lead us to her."

"If we want to make it in time and get more food, we should probably go to Kotodai if we want to make it in time for the solo performances," piped Shinji, not looking up from his phone.

"Okay then!" Midori grinned. "Let's go and support Leiko!"


	16. Humane

_I have no trust in human nature, it is much too much like mine._

—  _Sacha Guitry_

* * *

Sumire's violin case slapped gently against her thigh as she walked alongside Kageyama, frowning as she hummed thoughtfully, Mizushima's incident replaying in her mind—a never ending loop that would slowly torture her to insanity—

"Oi. I'm talking to you."

She felt Kageyama's hand clutch her head with only a small amount of pressure. She allowed him to turn her toward him.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was just… Never mind. Sorry, what did you say?"

"I told you that Hinata's going to be coming later. He lives on the other side of the mountain so his bus comes a bit later," Kageyama reiterated, miffed at her inattention.

"Oh. Just to clarify, none of the other Karasuno boys are coming, right?"  _I don't know if I could deal with having to look at them during my performance. Having Iwaizumi-san and Oikawa-san here is already bad enough._

Kageyama released her head and shifted his weight to his other foot. "They didn't say anything to me about it."

Well, it was certainly a better answer than "yes, they are, and they're going to embarrass you by being there under the pretence of supporting you".

"I hope they don't come," she mumbled. "Or at least not during my performance."

"Sumire-chan!" Naoko called as they approached the registration area. "Hurry up, it's our turn!"

"Coming, nee-chan!" She burst into a small run. "Come on, Tobio-kun."

* * *

"I knew I smelled something bad," Oikawa said with a forced smile on his face, looking at Kageyama like he was something that he had just scraped off his shoe.

Kageyama stiffened at the not-so-subtle jab but managed a gruff, "Oikawa-senpai."

Naoko glanced between the two of them, noticing the electrified atmosphere.  _Bad blood, I assume?_ Whatever was going on between the two setters, she wanted it to stop. Now. She turned away from them. "Shut up, both of you."

Behind her back, Oikawa stuck out his tongue and gave Kageyama a stink-eye.

"Don't be so immature, Asskawa."

"Says the one calling me names, Iwa-chan. And besides, I can't help that my irritating kohai is exactly that: Irritating."

"G-guys..." Tadashi stuttered, sweating. "Don't fight... please?"

They all exchanged a glance before declaring a silent truce, Iwaizumi sneaking in one last kick at Oikawa's shin.

_Of all the times he chooses to be a brat, it's now,_ Naoko thought, ruefully.  _Dumb chihuahua..._ She cleared her throat, handing the man at the table two slips of paper. "The numbers we were given when we submitted our online forms."

The man adjusted his glasses for a brief moment before nodding slowly, scrutinizing the numbers and scanning them on his machine. "Yes, yes..." He rummaged through a box. "Here are your passes—er— Makoshima Naoko and... Makoshima Sumire?"

"Yes," Naoko confirmed.

Sumire, who was standing behind her, nodded for extra measure.

"Good, good. These passes will grant you access backstage where all the rehearsal rooms are. You have three hours to practice before the competition starts for the solo category."

"We can't practice through their performances?"

"Heavens, no!" The man looked as if she had just slapped him. "That would be so rude and unbecoming!"

"... Right."  _... Just agree._

He made a waving motion at her—dismissal. "Don't just stand there, girl! I've got more people waiting in line!"

Deciding once again not to reply in fear of escalating the situation, Naoko sighed, took Sumire by the hand, and squeezed out of the crowd, joining the rest of her... friends and family.

"I hope you behaved," she said dryly, slipping the wearable pass around her neck, Sumire doing the same.

"Of course we did, Mako-chan," said Oikawa, looking affronted. "We're not savages." From the pointed look he was giving Kageyama, the unsaid words were clearly,  _"Not all of us, anyway."_

Sumire and Naoko shared an amused glance, earning wary looks from all the boys.

Naoko opened her mouth to refute Oikawa's claim but someone beat her to it.

"Oh? From my perspective, all of you are looking particularly primitive today."

Heads turned to the voice.

And Naoko found herself wanting to  _punch_ the smug look off Leiko's face. But she settled for a half-grimace-half-sneer.

"Hello, Leiko."

* * *

When Yoko placed a hand on Leiko's shoulder, the younger girl shirked away from her touch, downplaying her reaction by pushing her glasses up.

"Don't."

"Sorry." Yoko smiled ruefully. "I just wanted to wish you good luck. You know, for the competition. The one that's happening today right here in Kotodai Park?"

"I'm aware."

"Just making sure." Yoko detached from her side. "There's some really good yakiniku over there! I'm gonna go get some for us while you register, okay?"

"Whatever." Without even saying goodbye, Leiko quickened her pace, heading to where a crowd was growing.  _She's so optimistic. It's unhealthy. Not Midori-level unhealthy, but still unhealthy._ She blew a strand of brown hair from her face, scowling even further when she passed her hand through her windblown hair and found multiple knots.

After a few moments of trying to untangle her hair, she shrugged and went on her way.  _Still u_ _ntameable as ever._ It would have to do, she supposed.  _Darn. And here I was, thinking I could be somewhat presentable today._

To put it in short, her day had not gotten to a very good start, beginning with Naruto and Sasuke—Yoko's two favorite  _little monsters_ — waking her up by licking her face clean of, well,  _anything_. Anything except the dog drool that came by default. A string of unfortunate events had also happened before she even left the goddamn house but she was too tired to recall any of that shit now.

_I'm here to win,_ she reminded herself.  _Not for any shenanigans. It doesn't matter if they showed up. I won't be distracted. I will still win. I can't lose. I can't._ In her head, Yoko smiled widely, cuddling animals of all shapes and sizes to her.  _I have to win._

_For Yoko._

Any remnants of her shitty morning were exiting the front of her mind when she caught sight of something very,  _very_ interesting. A devious smirk appeared on her features. "Well, well... Who would have thought..."

Just the sight of Naoko deadpanning at Oikawa made her sick in the gut.

"... That Aobajosai's resident ice-fucking-queen would be here."

Another thought crossed her mind as she made her way toward them, in the mood for a good riling up.  _Is she entering? Has she just been shitting with me all this time? Does she feel_ sorry  _for me?_ Her scowl was on display once more.  _It's been two months and I already hate her._

_What_ she intensely disliked about Naoko was a mystery, even to herself. Was it her snobby 'look at me, I'm so apathetic' attitude? Was it the way she turned her nose up at every activity that Ayame, Katsumi, and Midori slaved over to produce for the rest of them?

_It doesn't matter. My opinion of her isn't going to change anytime soon._

Even so, she couldn't help herself. Antagonizing other people was practically second nature to her at this point. And, boy, did she  _love_ it. Putting on her swagger, she sauntered right up to where her schoolmates—and that one girl she sometimes saw scurrying down the halls during lunchtimes—were standing.

"... We're not savages," Oikawa concluded, looking put out. He was wearing a gray hoodie with what had to be the geekiest universe-space-whatever print on the front.

Naoko looked as if she begged to differ so Leiko decided to help her out a little.

"Oh? From my perspective, all of you are looking particularly primitive today," she remarked, smirking as their heads whipped to her direction. Having the attention of so many people made her slightly uncomfortable but she persevered. There was  _no_ way that she was backing down from something that  _she_ initiated. That would just make her look like a total ass.

From the face she was making, Leiko could bet that Naoko was far from pleased at her sudden appearance.

"Hello, Leiko," she greeted with strained politeness.

Leiko's eyes fixated on the white pass strung around Naoko's neck and resting against her torso. "So. Care to explain  _that?_ " From her peripheral vision, she could see that the other girl—Naoko's younger sibling?—was wearing something similar if not exactly the same.

"What's there to explain?" Naoko said coolly. "You have eyes and a brain, Leiko. It's pretty self-explanatory."

Leiko tutted, grinning lazily. "Now, now, no need to get testy. I just came to check out the competition. Oops," she corrected with glee, "I meant to say  _my_ competition."

Oikawa gave her an unimpressed glance, disdain clear in his eyes. "If this is your competition, Mako-chan, they might as well give you the prize already."

"Don't be so quick to judge, princeling. I'm sure that I could show you a thing or two," she purred, feeling a little slimy after saying that.  _Abort,_ her mind screamed,  _abort mission right now! Line has been crossed!_

"We should go somewhere else," Iwaizumi cut it before anything could break out, glaring at all of them. Leiko could practically feel the mom-instinct rolling off of him in waves, even though she didn't know him too well.

"I agree," said Naoko. "There's too much trash around here for my taste."

And then, just like that, they were gone, showing her their backs as they walked away.

They thought they were too good for her.

They  _knew_ they were too good for her.

They  _were_ too good for her.

_Enough with the self-loathing,_ she scolded herself, ignoring her heavy, aching heart.  _Don't be so weak. Their words mean nothing._ I  _am_ _too good for them. Not the other way 'round._ Her brain was not so easily tricked by her words.  _I've hated myself enough for a lifetime._ She repressed the negative feelings.  _Go away._

It wouldn't leave.

So she ignored it.

* * *

As soon as they were out of Leiko's hearing range, Oikawa let out a low whistle. "My, my, Mako-chan, I didn't realize you had it in you." Well, that was a lie. He definitely  _did_ know that she was more than capable of shutting down Leiko if her past actions were any indication. But still—there was no harm in a little teasing.

Naoko didn't answer, only looking straight ahead.

"Who was that?" Kageyama was asking Sumire. "She reminds me of Stingyshima."

But Sumire only shrugged. "No clue. I've never even seen her before." She snickered. "You're right though. But I'd much rather deal with  _Stingyshima_ than... that fire-breathing dragon bitch." Her voice lowered as she said the last bit but Oikawa heard it anyway, barely able to suppress his own chuckle.

Kageyama scrunched up his nose. "It'd be better if they met and tore each other apart."

"I'd pay to see that."

"Agreed," Iwaizumi said, surprisingly. "That was Park Leiko. She's not exactly the nicest person around if you haven't already noticed."

"Park?" Oikawa parroted.  _Is she Korean? Half, maybe?_ He asked as much and Iwaizumi shrugged.

"Probably."

"Park Leiko," Naoko muttered under her breath. Oikawa barely managed to hear her words. "Where have I heard that name before...?" Realization dawned in her eyes and she blinked. "Oh."

"Tell me," Oikawa demanded, his curiosity piqued by her reaction.

But Naoko shook her head. "It's not my story to tell." She stared down Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "And don't go digging for answers either. It's none of your business. She's Park Leiko, and she's a person, just like the rest of us. Please don't invade her privacy."

Iwaizumi nodded but her words only made Oikawa even more desperate to be in the know.  _How unfair that Mako-chan knows and nobody else does._ "Fine," he lied easily, feeling just a tad guilty. Already, he was making plans to google her name and see what came up.  _Maybe she's some kind of celebrity in hiding._

Oikawa grinned at the prospect.  _Hiding from what? A scandal? A stalker?_

* * *

Holding two sticks of yakiniku, Yoko discovered Leiko near a bathroom block, splashing water on her face using a drinking fountain. Immediately, the older woman's face flooded with concern.

"Hey," Yoko said softly, passing the skewer in her left hand to her right. She tentatively touched Leiko's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Leiko said shortly. A white pass was dangling around her neck. "By the way, I'm the fifteenth competitor."

"Oh. Okay." Yoko bit her lip. "No...nothing happened, right?"

Leiko sneered at her. "If you're referring to me having another mental breakdown, then  _no_." She cleaned her face with her baggy shirt and brushed past Yoko without so much a glance. "I haven't had one in years, nee-san, and I don't plan on having one now.  _Especially_ not now. Besides, just look around. There aren't any triggers around." For extra measure, she rudely pointed at a round-faced elderly woman sitting on a nearby park bench and feeding some ravenous birds.

"Okay... But if you ever feel like something's wrong—"

" _I know_."

"Leiko—"

" _I said I know!_ " she snapped, turning on her, eyes blazing.

Yoko relented. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just worried, okay?"

"Stop worrying."

"Hey, wait, where are you going? What about our yakiniku?"

Leiko stopped in her stalk down the pathway. "I'm going to practice. You can have mine. I'm not hungry anyway."

As she disappeared into the distance, Yoko sighed heavily. "Oh, Leiko... what am I going to do with you? If there really are no triggers around, then what did this to you?"

In the bathroom block, she could smell fresh, sour vomit.

A stench she was all too familiar with.

* * *

"Wow."

Sumire glanced up at the adorable whale plush toy in awe, her eyes sparkling.

She turned to Kageyama.

"I want that."

After the standoff with Leiko, all of them had gone their separate ways: Tadashi with Naoko, Iwaizumi with Oikawa and she with Kageyama. It was a unanimous agreement that she and Naoko should have fun for a bit before practicing (okay, maybe Naoko was a  _little_ reluctant but Sumire liked to think that she was all for it as well).

"So?" Kageyama raised an eyebrow at her. "If you want it so bad, then buy it."

"Hold on a second," the vendor broke in, prodding the whale with his wooden cane and grinning sleazily. "This little fella's not up for sale, you see. Money can't buy  _everything_ , you know." He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Ah, rich kids these days. So spoiled."

Kageyama could see Sumire's grip tighten on her violin case. He scooted away from her just a little, alarmed by the dark aura she was giving off.

She grinned nastily at the vendor. "Enlighten me, then."

_She's slipping into politeness,_ Kageyama realized. This was  _not_ a good sign. It was the sort of politeness that screamed  _danger_ _!_

"Oh, it's simple," the slimy vendor said, looking triumphant. "All if you have to do is hit the whale and it's all yours."

"How much for a play?"

"250 yen for three darts." He handed her a plastic gun, likely already filled with ammunition. "Well?"

"Deal," Sumire agreed, grimacing as she handed him the money and took the toy gun from him. "That was the last of my pocket money so this better be worth it..."

"If you lose, don't cry," Kageyama said bluntly.

"Don't be stupid," was her only response as she took aim at the toy she wanted.

Her first shot missed by just an inch, earning a whistle from the vendor.

"So close... yet so far," he sneered.

Unbeknownst to him, Kageyama was currently giving him his scariest death glare, which was by no means a walk in the park to deal with. Ah, if only he would turn this way...

Her next shot missed by a little once again.

"You suck," Kageyama accused, grabbing the gun from her. "Let me try."

"Don't touch!" she snapped, irritably. "I've got this, okay?"

Grumbling, Kageyama relented. "You're going to miss again. What's the point?"

"Shut up. I'm trying to get my money's worth."

She fired.

Bullseye.

Sumire glanced smugly at Kageyama. "See? Toldja I could do it. You need to have more faith in me, Tobio-kun." He rolled his eyes and she laughed quietly before turning back to the vendor. "Well? My prize?"

But he didn't even make a move, instead saying, "Sorry, doll, but no can do."

Sumire raised an eyebrow at him. "Ex _cuse_ me? And just why the hell not?"

"I believe I said that you had to  _knock_ the whale off the shelf."

"That's a lie!" Sumire shrieked. "I remember exactly what you said and you never said anything about having to  _knock_ the whale off the shelf! Just look at these darts!" She pointed at the flimsy, plastic things. "There's no way that something this small and light could knock off  _anything_ on your shelf. I want my money back."

He grinned at her. "Sorry, but no refunds! You've already had three shots. Sorry, doll, but this is business."

Sumire flushed red. "Listen, you—"

"Sumire."

She turned to Kageyama, whose eyes were shadowed because of his fringe. She fell quiet, wondering what he would say next.

"That's right, listen to your boyfriend," the man running the stall jeered. "He—"

Kageyama handed him 250 yen. " _Anything_ I knock off the shelf is fair game, right?"

The man's smile faltered ever so slightly but returned even wider than ever as he accepted the money. "I suppose you could put it that way."

"Good." Kageyama removed his bag and took out—

"A volleyball?" Sumire uttered under her breath, her eyes widening. "Tobio-kun, you can't be serious—"

The man screeched in terror and did a duck-and-cover as Kageyama  _spiked_ —actually  _goddamn fucking spiked_ — the ball as hard as he could without losing control at the shelf.

With a loud  _wham!_ every single thing fell off the sturdy shelf, littering the floor with goods. The ball rebounded off the shelf, arced through the air, and landed back in Kageyama's hands.

"H-hey!" the vendor cried, fear in his eyes. "What do you think you're—"

"Bastard," Kageyama snapped at him, his blue eyes flashing with an unbridled rage before he smirked deviously. "You never specified that I had to use the gun." The man spluttered in disbelief but Kageyama ignored him. "Now, everything from the shelf if you don't mind."

"No way in hell am I going to—"

"Now."

"I said—"

" _Now_."

At this point, a sizable crowd had already formed around the stall. More than five people had filmed the entire incident with gleeful smiles on their faces—the video promised thousands of views on whatever video hosting platform they used.

"Aw, come on, just give it to him!" one middle-aged father shouted. "I saw the whole exchange—he won fair and square!"

The man tried his best to defend his actions but the crowd was already turning on him, spurred by the father's outburst.

"Yeah, give them the stuff!"

"My sister's a top lawyer in the country—I'll send them her number if you don't comply!"

"Kaa-chan, that man is a meany-pants!"

Kageyama smirked, pleased at the amount of support he was receiving from total strangers. "Well?"

At last, the sleazy stall-owner relented. "Alright, alright, I give! Just leave me alone, you crazy people!" With that, he disappeared out the back door of the stall.

Sumire approached Kageyama tentatively, eyes wide. "Dude. I can't believe you just did that."

Kageyama gave her a withering glance. "You better not be mad or anything. He deserved it."

But Sumire shook her head. "Tobio-kun... that was awesome. And badass. Definitely badass."

His eye twitched.

Sumire jumped over the stand in one leap and picked up the whale plush she wanted so much. "Hey!" she called to the people, unabashed by all the attention she was receiving. "I don't need all of this! Feel free to take whatever you want!"

Kageyama barely had anytime to jump out of the way as everyone began to swarm Sumire with orders of what they wanted.

"I'll take the pony figures for my daughter, please!"

"Ooh, ooh! I want the bunny toy!"

"Is that a plastic sword? My son would like one of those!"

"I want the bowling set!"

"The golf clubs, thanks!"

"Coming right up!" Sumire said, cheerfully, distributing everything left and right. "This is for you, and you, and you... and you!"

Kagayama regarded her wryly. "Introverted my ass."

 


	17. The Grand King and His Fool

_Humor was a good way to hide the pain._

—  _Rick Riordan_

* * *

Naoko's stomach grumbled and she sighed, tired of repressing her hunger. As her belly continued to complain relentlessly, she turned to Tadashi, who was admiring the zelkova trees.

"Tadashi-nii, I'm going to go get some food," she told him. Her voice grew firm. "Stay here and don't talk to strangers unless they are elderly or children."

"Yes, Naachan," Tadashi replied, leaning against the closest zelkova trees. "Please don't take too long."

"Of course."

As Naoko walked away, she couldn't help but turned her head back multiple times, only stopping when Tadashi's blond head completely disappeared from her line of vision.  _He'll be fine_ , she reassured herself.

She approached the first food vendor, a man who was selling some delicious-smelling takoyaki. Licking her lips subtly, she nearly moaned in satisfaction at the wafting scents.

"Good morning," the shopkeeper said, smiling pleasantly. "How may I help you?"

"Five servings of takoyaki, please," Naoko answered, the money already in her hand. "With tempura sauce."

The man proceeded to whip up her order, whistling as he took the takoyaki out of the heating machine and put them in foam containers, each containing several of the savory balls. Then he, as the finishing touch, he drizzled tempura sauce on top of every single ball.

Naoko could hardly keep still as the man tantalizingly closed all of the hot, steaming containers and stacked them inside a plastic bag. Finally, he gave her another smile and gave her the bag.

_About time!_ Hastily thanking him, she scurried off in a half-jog-half-run back to where she had left Tadashi waiting.

"Did I take long?" Naoko asked, looking up at her brother.

"No," he reassured. "What did you get?"

"Takoyaki for all of us. Do you have any idea where Sumire went? She hasn't eaten anything either."

"Last I checked, she was headed to where all the game stalls are," Tadashi informed. "The ones where you win prizes at."

Naoko nodded slowly, the bag of takoyaki swaying back and forth on her arm. "Okay, okay... we'll eat here. I'll eat one box and you can eat two. Leave the last two boxes for Sumire." She pulled out her phone from her jeans pocket, tapping away on the keys before announcing, "She'll be here soon." She was about to put her phone away when it buzzed, a new message having arrived.

_Eh? From Oikawa?_

Well, it had to be, as that's what the ID read. Plus, he used at least two emoticons to convey one message: That he was on his way over and had somehow managed to guess that they were around the snack area. Yes, she decided, this was definitely Oikawa and not some yandere imposter.

_Oikawa... or Tooru?_ She shifted uncomfortably. He seemed to enjoy it much more when she addressed him by his first name but "Oikawa" just rolled off the tongue better for her.  _Hope he doesn't mind when he realizes that I'm going to start calling him Oikawa again. And if he does, then too bad._

"I'm going to the bathroom," Tadashi announced, standing up and striding off.

"Okay."

Tadashi had still not returned when Naoko finished her share of takoyaki. She packed up and was going to go after him when something—or rather,  _someone_ —stopped her from doing so. If she hadn't been paying attention, she would have walked straight into his torso.

Naoko glanced upward, unfazed by the sheer amount of height this guy had on her.

"Pardon me," she said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

She tried to scoot around the side by the man followed her move, efficiently blocking her.

_Well, isn't this familiar,_ she thought wryly.  _Does he want to beat me up too?_

"Please let me through," she tried again, not really expecting any results.

She was not disappointed. The guy leaned downward until he was eye level with her. "Hey there, sweetheart. What's a cute little thing like you doing out here all alone?" Before Naoko could reply, he continued, "I was gonna go talk to you when I saw you at the takoyaki place but you left so quickly." His voice lowered, as if he were trying to reveal some big secret, "I saw your boyfriend. He's cute, but you could do better. Like  _me_."

_... Is this guy for real?_

"He's my brother," Naoko stated frostily, her eyes sharp as flint as she regarded the stranger. "Now  _leave_."

He grinned sleazily. "Not until you give me your number."

"I'll pass. Either you leave me alone or—"

"Or what? Come on, doll, I just want your number. What kind of phone do you have? Is it an old-fashioned one? Because I don't mind that—I'm really into old-fashioned girls actually."

"I'll ask you one last time." Naoko glared at him even harder than before. "Stop wasting my time and  _leave me alone_."

But he stood his ground.

That was his last warning.

With all her might, Naoko stamped her foot down on  _his_ foot as hard as she could, causing the man to scream and fall on his ass, cradling his injury with some surprisingly impressive flexibility.

He stared at her, wide-eyed. "What was that for?!"

"I asked you three times to leave me alone and you refused to comply." She brushed past him. "I only took necessary action." She hadn't even made five strides when the man hobbled after her.

"I like feisty girls!" he declared, wincing as his injured foot landed the ground a tad too heavily. "Come back, baby!"

Naoko gritted her teeth and whipped around to glower at him. "Take a hint, you sex-addict. Leave me the fuck alone." He made a grab for her but she caught his wrist and twisted it painfully, making him squeal like a little girl. Satisfied, she began to walk away again.

But the guy would not relent.

"Baby, please—"

Naoko could feel the bones in her fingers pop as her grip on her violin case tightened. She had had it up to  _here_ with this busybody stalker. If he didn't leave now, she'd—

"Oya? Is this guy bothering you, Mako-chan?"

She didn't need to turn around to know that it was Oikawa speaking (she turned anyway just for the sake of it). Oikawa and Iwaizumi towered over the pervert who had been harassing her just moments ago, reducing him to a sweating, hunched, fearful ball.

"I think you might be right for once, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi added, fixing a steely gaze on the pervert. "Think he's good enough for her?"

"God, no." Oikawa sneered at the pitiful man. "Look at him, Iwa-chan." He scoffed, waving at him dismissively. "How pitiful."

"Thought so. Come on, Makoshima-san, your brother's waiting."

Naoko raised an eyebrow but didn't question it when they flanked her as if they were her bodyguards and escorted her away. It was... amusing, she supposed. As well as a gesture that she could appreciate.

"Dickhead," Oikawa commented offhandedly as they walked over to where Tadashi was standing, looking nervous.

"I had it under control," said Naoko indifferently. "You and Iwaizumi-san didn't need to intervene—"

"I know perfectly well that you can take care of yourself, Mako-chan."

She frowned. "Then...?"

Iwaizumi pulled ahead to meet Tadashi as Oikawa paused to grin cheekily at her. "I just wasn't sure if he would come out without any broken bones."

_Oh my god._

Before she knew it, she snickered. "How thoughtful of you, Oikawa."

"Ehh? Back to last names now? What happened to 'Tooru'?" He pouted at her.

She gave him a small smile. "Maybe next time."

"A-ah, Naachan," Tadashi said as she and Oikawa pulled up next to Iwaizumi and he. "I saw what was happening a-and—um—Oikawa-kun and Iwaizumi-san were here s-so I sent them over to help you—sorry, I—ah..."

"Relax, nii-san," she said soothingly. "Thank you for looking out for me; I appreciate it."

Tadashi gave her a watery smile. "A-anytime..."

Oikawa made a point to yawn incredibly loudly and obnoxiously at that point, earning an exasperated noise from Iwaizumi.

"Enough of the family mush," he said flippantly. "Can we go on a ride or something? Otherwise it's just boring."

Naoko looked conflicted. "I don't know. I was hoping to squeeze in some practice time with Sumire—"

"You can do that later," Oikawa urged. "Come on, Mako-chan—one ride?"

"If she wants to practice, let her," Iwaizumi said. "The competition is important for her." He gave her a glance. "But, Makoshima-san, try to loosen up a little. It's not good to cram in extra practice. Try and relax a bit more."

"Right."

Oikawa gasped in mock betrayal. "Ehh?! Mako-chan, you listen to this guy but not me?"

"I'll go on the ride with you, Oikawa-kun," Tadashi piped up, bashfully.

"Maybe because he actually gives good advice?" Naoko retorted, none of them having heard Tadashi's offer.

"What do you mean? I give good advice too!"

"No you don't."

"Well, I  _can._ "

"But you  _don't_ and that's the thing."

"You're such a stick in the mud, oyster-chan."

Naoko rolled her eyes. "Oh, spare me, dumb chihuahua." She sighed. "If it makes you happy, I'll go on a stupid ride with you."

Oikawa grinned. "Good choice, Mako-chan. Are you finally accepting me~?"

"It was either this or putting up with your whining all day," Naoko deadpanned.

"Exactly! You had a choice, Mako-chan~"

"That's not a choice, it's an ultimatum," Iwaizumi said, dryly, as they headed toward a Ferris wheel. He turned to Naoko. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It's not easy, believe me."

"I'll get used to it."

"Geehh! You two are so mean to me!" Oikawa whined, hooking an arm around Tadashi's neck in a purely platonic gesture. "My only friend here is Dashi-chan."

Tadashi flushed red as a tomato and squeaked, "M-me?"

"That's because Makoshima-san likes  _everyone_ ," Iwaizumi pointed out. "No offence."

"N-none taken, Iwaizumi-san..."

"Iwaizumi-san has a point," added Naoko as they joined the line for the Ferris wheel, the group apparently having made an unspoken decision to take this ride. "Liking everyone is basically part of Tadashi's default setting. You're not exactly special."

Oikawa stuck his tongue out at her and Iwaizumi, oblivious to just how red Tadashi was becoming by Oikawa's close contact. "See, Dashi-chan? They're so mean and broody. No wonder they don't have a love life."

"In our defense, your girlfriend broke up with you last week," Iwaizumi said, grinning roguishly. "You're not exactly in a position to judge, dumbass."

"Thank you, Iwaizumi-san," said Naoko, playing along. "You're part of the club, Oikawa."

Oikawa gave her a wary look. "Club?"

"The Lonely Hearts Club," quipped Iwaizumi, patting his back.

"Dammit!"

"I could validate you from that club, Oikawa-kun..." Tadashi murmured.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Dashi-chan?"

"N-nothing!"

"Come on, ladies and gents!" The man running the ride ushered people to the Ferris wheel as others got off. "Two people per compartment! No pushing!"

"Looks like we're going to have to split," Iwaizumi commented, craning his neck to see how close they were to the front.

"Can I call dibs?" Oikawa asked, hopefully.

But before Oikawa could even begin to call dibs, they were at the front. The officials, looking extremely frazzled, divided the group right down the middle, placing Oikawa and Tadashi in one compartment and Iwaizumi and Naoko in another.

Oikawa groaned.

Naoko raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He shook his head, looking a little flustered that she had heard him. "Nothing, nothing. I was just hoping to sit with Iwa-chan."

She narrowed her eyes at him but accepted his words anyway.

* * *

"Idiot," Iwaizumi hissed under his breath at Oikawa. "Don't be so obvious."

"I'm trying not to," Oikawa defended, quietly so that Naoko and Tadashi wouldn't hear. "But you're not the one who has to share a compartment with the White Monster."

It was time to split. Reluctantly, Oikawa pulled himself from Iwaizumi's side and forced himself to stick by Tadashi while his sister got to share with Iwaizumi. They got into their compartment and sat opposite each other, silent, though Tadashi looked very much like he wanted to say something to start a conversation. But they simply sat through awkward silence, waiting for the ride to start.

_Don't talk to me,_ thought Oikawa.  _Maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought I did but I don't want you to speak to me. It was a mistake inviting you on the team. You've ruined everything. So don't even try to talk to me—_

"Oikawa-kun?"

Oikawa nearly shouted out his last thought. But he shook it off and said, "Yeah?"  _Don't call me 'kun' either. I hate it when you call me that. I'd rather have Tobio-chan call me 'senpai' for the rest of my life than have you use that stupid honorific_ —

Tadashi cut off his train of thought again. It was becoming increasingly irritating for Oikawa. "Thank you for standing up for my sister."

"Eh?" He tilted his head lazily. "It was no big deal..."  _Seriously. Stop talking to me. It'll be over soon; can't you shut up till we get off? I tolerate you more when there's other people around._

Abruptly, Tadashi stood up and bowed at the waist to him. "Thank you, Oikawa-kun!"

The brunet was effectively silenced.  _I wonder... if knew how much I hated him... would he still be doing these things?_ Tadashi was undeniably  _different_ —he was way more docile than he had been in elementary. This—this Tadashi—this docile,  _mature_ Tadashi—could almost be considered likable by most people's standards. Yes, he was kind of a doormat. But, surely, that was better than being, well, whatever he was back in grade school.  _A violent beast?_

Finally, the ride started up and Oikawa found himself challenging gravity as they were brought upward, not quite reaching the highest point but gradually approaching the apex.

The skyline was nice, he supposed, looking out the window. The sky was a gentle blue and filled with  _just_ the right amount of clouds. Black triangles—birds—hovered in the atmosphere, travelling in flocks of five or six. Sometimes even more.

Those birds were harmless by themselves. But when they stood up in one whole cluster...

_They become dangerous. Deadly, even._

In his lap, his hands twitched. He could almost feel the volleyball as he set it up to Iwaizumi for a clean, crushing attack on the other side. Ah, yes, the other side...

Where Karasuno would be ready.

Karasuno. The team—other than Shiratorizawa—that gave him the most grief. It was almost a miracle that they had progressed so far in such a short time. The crows were definitely a thorn in his side—equipped with great offense and defense. The corners of his mouth twitched upward. And, yet, they had still lost to Aobajosai in the Interhigh. The team that  _he_ , Oikawa Tooru, captained with great pride.  _His_ team.

_We're going to win again,_ he vowed.  _I'll make sure of it. Those crows won't see it coming._

"Oikawa-kun? You're awfully quiet."

Tadashi's weak, watery voice snapped him out of his thoughts once more.  _Well,_ he thought wryly with a small sneer,  _people don't just plot murders out loud, do they?_

When Tadashi paled, Oikawa realized that he had repeated it aloud.

"I'm joking," Oikawa said with a small, forced laugh. It was  _oh-so-easy_ to keep up the facade for him. Poor, naive Tadashi. "Don't look so creeped out, Dashi-chan."

"R-right..." Tadashi smiled. "You're such a jester, Oikawa-kun."

Oikawa had to stifle a mean-spirited laugh at the irony in his statement.  _I'm not the fool here, White Monster._

_It's you that's the fool. That's just how things are._

_I'm the Grand King._

_And you're my court jester._

* * *

"How was Iwa-chan, Mako-chan?" Oikawa said by way of greeting as they got off together. "I hope he didn't give you much trouble."

Iwaizumi scoffed and Naoko smiled wryly.

"The opposite, really. We both bonded over you." She held up a hand for him to stop talking. "Our mutual dislike of your immature tendencies, that is."

"Ack!" He squawked in disbelief. "Mean, Mako-chan. You and Iwa-chan seriously should stop hanging out. It's not healthy."

"Not for you, anyway," Iwaizumi snickered.

* * *

"You're lost!" Toshio accused Katsumi. "Face it—all of us are lost because of you!"

Katsumi flushed and protested, "I am not lost!"

"Yes you are! We passed that tree with the graffiti on it five times," Toshio snapped, prodding at the map she held of Kotodai Park. "You're even holding the map upside-down, you ditz!"

Ayame sighed and stepped between them "Break it up, guys. Katsumi, pass me the map."

Still blushing crimson, Katsumi reluctantly passed Ayame the map. "I just wanted to prove myself..."

"You don't need to do that," Ayame assured her. "We're your friends, silly. Now let's see here..." As she scrutinized the map, she sweatdropped. "The Sendai Standoff... is all the way on the other side of the park."

A brief silence.

Then;

"Waaah!"

"Katsumi, I told you that you should have let me lead, but nooooo!"

"Ooh, ooh, can I lead?"

"No, Midori, you may not!"

Shinji gave them all a quick glance from his phone.

"Enough!" Ayame shouted over the yelling. "Toshio, shut up. I get that you're frustrated but please do not take it out on us. We're currently around the games stall so we can cross the area and go to the stage from there, okay?"

"Well, okay... but I wanted to lead."

"Fine, I'll stop, sorry."

"Sorry for getting us lost."

They traversed through the area before halting before a crowd that was slowly dispersing, most of the leavers holding a toy of sorts.

"What's going on?" Ayame wondered aloud.

Eventually, the crowd dwindled enough for them to approach the stall that was apparently giving away free items. To their surprise, the owners were a boy and a girl, both with hair as black as night. Siblings, maybe?

Before Ayame could contemplate any more possibilities, Midori and Katsumi were already in front of them.

"Hi there!" chirped Midori. "Just wanna ask, what's happening? By the way, that whale of yours is really cute!"

The girl, short with hair that barely brushed her collarbones, blushed. "Thank you. Uhh, my friend, Tobio-kun, won it for me."

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Uhh..." Both raven-heads seemed unsure of how to respond to  _that_ little remark.

"So what are your names?" Katsumi asked, wide-eyed.

They exchanged a glance.

"Kageyama Tobio," the boy said, albeit rather reluctantly. He prodded the girl. "And this dumbass here is Makoshima Sumire."

"Dumbass? How am I a dumbass? What did I do this time?"

"Why did you give everything away when you could have kept it for yourself and sold it?"

"Maybe because it was a nice thing to do? And I wouldn't want to carry such a big load home anyway!"

The drama club looked at one another, wry, rueful and amused expressions on their faces.

Ayame could practically feel it in her bones as she watched them argue.

Things were going to get a teensy bit more interesting for the drama club members. But who knew for sure?

It was just a feeling.

 


	18. Standoff, begin!

_I do stand up sometimes out of anger. Sometimes the greatest stuff comes from a dark place._

—  _Tracy Morgan_

* * *

Sumire's eye twitched in annoyance as Kageyama accused her of being a dumbass once again.

"Maybe because it was a nice thing to do?" she shot back. "And I wouldn't want to carry such a big load home anyway!"

"Is it because you're weak?" Kageyama said with a smirk. "Every time you toss, I always think that your arms are going to snap off, twig."

"Hah?! Twig?! I'm perfectly normal-sized for someone my age—"

"Excuse me," the girl with purple hair tied up in twin drills cut in, a warm but strained smile on her face. Something told Sumire that this girl was practically institutionalized to rising voices and vehement arguments. The corners of her eyes were wistfully tired.

"Sorry," Sumire apologized, scowling with no real ire at Kageyama, who scoffed and turned away, glaring at the wall. "Did you guys want something? We're about to head off to the stage." She pulled out her phone. "My sister wants to meet there."

The jumpy green-haired girl piped up, "Hey, hey! We happen to be going in that direction too. Why don't we all walk together?"

"Oh, um, well—"

"Do we have to?" Kageyama asked loudly, brushing a few strands of black hair away from his eyes.

"Tobio-kun, don't be rude."

"Don't tell me what to do, runt."

"You really don't have to come with us if it bothers you," the girl with purple drills appeased, holding her hands out in hopes of peacefully resolving everything. "Sorry about Midori."

"Ayameeee!" the green-haired girl—Midori?—whined.

"Midori, we can't force them to accompany us," Ayame pointed out, hands on her hips and a miffed expression on her angular features.

The boy with navy blue hair gave Sumire and Kageyama apologetic looks. "Sorry about that. They're usually much more mature and controlled."

Sumire's lip quirked upward, not really liking his condescending speech pattern. "It's... fine."

"Can we go?" Kageyama muttered to her. "They're... strange."

But then the only other boy in their group, one with shaggy, dark lavender hair, spoke up, his eyes never leaving his flashing phone screen. "Like you have room to talk, Toshio," he said, his voice barely above a murmur.

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everyone!" Ayame cried, exasperated. "That's enough!" She bowed at the waist to Kageyama and Sumire, who had watched everything unfold with relatively bewildered faces. "I'm so sorry for bothering you two! Please don't take these guys so seriously!"

"Ah, Ayame, was it?" Sumire said politely. "Please lift your head. Tobio and I were going to the stage anyway so I don't see why we can't travel together."

"Maybe because we're total strangers?" Kageyama expressed, quietly enough that only Sumire could hear.

"Hush, Tobio-kun," Sumire whispered back. "We're just walking, not spending the rest of our lives with them."

As they walked together, a split atmosphere was quickly identified by Sumire. She glanced over to Kageyama but he, being as dense as a pile of bricks, didn't seem to notice the awkward ambiance that followed them like dark clouds.

"Soo..." the pink-haired girl—Sumire never caught her name—enunciated slowly. "Are you guys performing or...?"

Sumire startled slightly when she realized that she was addressing her and Kageyama. "Oh—er—I'm performing..."

"And I'm not," added Kageyama, looking indifferent. "I'm just here to support the twig here."

Sumire shot him a withering glance. "Please." She squirmed in her blue jacket, wondering what to say next. "What are your names...? I, er, never really got all of them..." She said it in such a clunky and ungainly manner that even Kageyama cringed. She resisted the urge slap herself in the face for forgetting just how socially awkward she could get in situations like this. She could have let Kageyama do the talking but that would not have yielded any better results.

Luckily, the brightly-colored group ignored her stuttering.

"I'm Ayame."

"Midori!"

"I'm Katsumi! Nice to meet ya!"

"Just call me Toshio."

"Shinji."

"Do all of you use first names with people...?" Kageyama inquired, looking a bit caught off guard at the sheer lack of formality.

Ayame confirmed it. "Yeah. We're not really fans of referring to one another by family names. It gets so stuffy and formal and that's not how we roll."

"We're part of our school's drama club," Katsumi said rather unnecessarily. "We have two other members and a great teacher but they're not here right now. Did you know that one of them is performing?"

"Oh?" Sumire mused. "And what school do you go to?" She narrowed her eyes. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..." Pink hair was a little hard to forget.

"Same," Kageyama said, surprisingly. "Katsumi... is your last name Katou?"

"Oh my gosh!" Katsumi squawked, gasping overdramatically. "How did you know?! Are you some kind of stalker?!"

Sumire was suddenly glad that she wasn't drinking anything. She burst into peals of laughter, looking even more gleeful and totally unafraid when Kageyama fixed her with a frosty glower.

"Pfft!" Sumire lifted a hand to her mouth, realizing for a split second that she probably looked like Tsukishima when he was trying not to look like the immature fifteen year old boy he was (the one that laughed when Tanaka said "shitty boy"). "Stalker! I can actually see that. You have this... stalkerish air about you, Tobio-kun."

"You brat!" He squeezed her head and she half-giggled half-squealed. He gave Katsumi an exasperated look. "I am not a stalker. I just remember seeing you a few times when I was still in middle school."

Katsumi nodded, putting a finger to her chin and frowning contemplatively. "Say... did you go to Kitagawa Daiichi?"

Kageyama nodded fervently. "Yeah. I think you were my upperclassman."

The pinkette clapped her hands with glee. "So cool! Now you have to call me senpai!"

"I go to Kitagawa Daiichi too," Sumire stated, blinking owlishly. "Does that mean I should call you senpai too...?"

"Of course! Call me Katsumi-senpai! Or Katou-senpai if you feel more comfortable!"

"Katou-senpai!" they chorused, staring wide-eyed at the pinkette with a newfound respect.

Meanwhile, Ayame, Midori and Toshio were staring at them with fascination. Well, Midori was. The other two just looked mildly intrigued at Katsumi suddenly commanding the respect of two virtual strangers. Shinji simply tapped away on his phone, indifferent.

"One more time!" Katsumi instructed, looking as if she were having the time of her life.

"Katou-senpai!" Sumire and Kageyama repeated with even more zeal if that were possible.

Toshio sighed. "Oh, brother."

"She's like Tanaka-san," Sumire said to Kageyama when Katsumi was satisfied.

Kageyama nodded in agreement. "Just as loud..."

* * *

Naoko checked her watch for the umpteenth time, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for Sumire and Kageyama to arrive. While she didn't really care for the latter's presence, she wanted Sumire there with her  _stat_.

"Relax, Mako-chan," Oikawa soothed. "You've still time."

"Oikawa, we wasted way too much time going on your stupid rides. I can't believe I let you rope me into another two rides..."

"You're finally growing soft on me, Mako-chan," he teased. "Don't deny it—you had fun. I'm a pretty fun guy, you know. It's hard not to enjoy yourself around me."

"Are you using 'fun' as a euphemism for 'annoying' and 'loud'?" Iwaizumi quipped, always ready to deflate Oikawa's ever growing ego.

"It seems like it," Naoko added, raising an eyebrow at the brunet. "Or maybe he's going through late puberty."

"From the way he acts, it sure seems like it."

Oikawa narrowed his eyes at them, carefully scrutinizing. "You're doing it again. That irritating teaming up thing."

Iwaizumi and Naoko exchanged a falsely bemused glance with just a touch of mischief.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Shittykawa."

"I second Iwaizumi-san. You're yapping a lot more than usual today."

"Geeh! Why are you suddenly acting like evil twins?!"

Iwaizumi guffawed while Naoko's lips quirked upward in a small smile.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Naoko suddenly declared, feeling her bladder growing increasingly distressed. "I'll be right back. Please take care of Tadashi."

"We will," Iwaizumi affirmed, nudging Oikawa, who, reluctantly, nodded.

 _I should have gone before_ , Naoko scolded herself as she hurried to the nearest bathroom block.  _What if Sumire shows up when I'm gone?_  Her train of thought was cut off when a familiar face appeared in the distance. She resisted the urge to groan in despair.  _Are you serious?_  It was that pervert again. Fortunately, he hadn't spotted Naoko yet. So she stood her ground, waiting for him to get off his phone and stop loitering around the restrooms. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with him again.

Finally, the guy (still limping, Naoko noted with a small amount of glee), put his phone away and hobbled to the male restroom. Relaxing, Naoko neared the restroom block.  _About time. I seriously need to go piss or I'll_ —

"Oi!" The pervert had bumped into someone. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm walking here!"

 _How rude,_ Naoko thought, the man's behavior leaving a sour taste in her mouth.  _Just ignore him..._ And she was about to too had she not noticed just who the pervert was antagonizing.

A poor middle schooler with the brightest orange hair she had ever seen.

The unfortunate boy warbled, "Geeh! S-scary!"

"I'll be even more scary if you don't get out of my way!" the pervert roared. "I've had a pretty shitty day today!"

_So he's picking on small children now? I cannot believe this guy._

The orange-head stammered, "Sorry! I'll just be going..." He tried to sidestep the man but got grabbed by the shirt collar.

"Not so fast, punk. I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" He raised his fist—

And had his feet sweeped from underneath him, causing him to land on his rear end, blinking in disbelief.

The young boy looked around for his saviour until his eyes landed on a girl who was shorter than he was—just by a bit.

"Huh? Did you do that?" he asked, blinking at her.

She met his confused gaze evenly. "Do you see anyone else around that might have done that?"

"Well, no, but..." His lips split into a gigantic grin. "You're shorter than me!" Instantly, he clapped his hands over his mouth, flustered. "Ack! Sorry, sorry... this irritating guy, Lev, has been rubbing off me..."

"Ah." The man was beginning to awaken from his stupor but one glare from her kept him down. "You should get going now... but where are your parents?"

He sweatdropped at her. "H-hah? Parents? I'm sixteen! I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to be travelling around, ah..."

"Makoshima Naoko."

"Makoshima-san, then!" The little orange energiser bunny halted in his mini tirade. "Wait, Makoshima? That's your family name?"

"Yes. It's not that odd, is it?"

He shook his head. "It's just that... I know someone else with the same surname. I dunno if you're related but..." The boy shrugged. "Her name is Makoshima Sumire."

Suddenly, the previously downed pervert jumped up impressively and caught the orange-haired boy in a headlock.

"Stay back!" he warned Naoko, a tremor of fear in his voice. "Or I'll squeeze the life out of him!"

Naoko simply stared. Then, without warning, she stamped down on his foot; the same one which she had stomped on beforehand. He howled in pain and loosened his grip on the middle—er, high—schooler, who managed to wriggle out of his grip and assume what Naoko guessed was supposed to be a defensive stance. Well, she had to give him points for trying, she supposed, even if his form was sloppy to the extreme.

Thankfully, no fight was going to break out this time around. Whimpering, the man hopped away on his good leg.

Naoko turned to the boy. "Since you know my name, it's only fair that you should tell me yours."

"Oh, right! I'm Hinata Shouyo! Nice to meet you."

She shook his outstretched hand. "Likewise."

"Um, Makoshima-san... thank you for saving me!" Hinata bowed to her, a red tinge on his cheeks. "Sorry for all the trouble."

"It's... not a big deal," she answered, walking into the ladies' bathroom. "It was nice meeting you Hinata-san. And take care of my sister."

"Sister?" Naoko could hear him parrot as she disappeared into the restroom. "Oh! So they are related! What a coincidence..." his voice trailed off.

* * *

"Let's go find seats, guys!" Katsumi declared, her pink twin tails flapping in the autumn breeze. "Hurry—otherwise they'll all be taken and we can't sit together!"

"Ah, Katou-senpai," Kageyama began, clutching his bag. "You're all... sitting together...?"

"Uh-huh! Which means you are too, Tobio."

Kageyama looked unsure of whether he even  _wanted_ to spend hours squashed between a jaunty, deredere Midori and a stuck-up, hindere Toshio.

Noticing his less than enthusiastic reaction, Sumire smirked and patted the setter's back. "Now, now, Tobio-kun. Let's not disappoint our senpai... Or would you rather sit with Oikawa-san?"

Ah, the classic 'lesser of two evils'. Kageyama knew that he was at a loss here.

He muttered something incoherent under his breath and Sumire cocked her head at him.

"What?"

"I said  _fine_ ," he hissed at her.

"That sounded  _nothing_ like 'fine'!" she called him out, sweatdropping.

"Then maybe you weren't listening hard enough, dumbass." He flicked her forehead and she yelped, glaring at him—no real anger in her eyes.

"Over here!" Toshio called from a few steps away, gesturing to a row of unoccupied seats.

"Good job, Toshio!" Ayame replied, walking like a crab in order to fit between the front and back row of seats.

As the drama club members got seated, Sumire coughed.

"I should get going now or else Naoko-nee will be mad." She grinned wickedly. "Have fun with our new friends, Tobio-kun."

"You're an evil little shitstain, aren't you?" he murmured, scowling down at her.

"Ouch, Tobio-kun." She waved him goodbye, her cheeks flushing slightly as she added, "Hey, uh, cheer me on, okay? I mean, you don't have to... but..." She turned even redder in the face. "It'd be... nice."

"Are you sick?" Kageyama asked, scrutinizing her closely with narrowed eyes. "Your face is all red."

"Ack! No, I am not  _sick_ , stupid!" Sumire heaved a sigh. "Relax, Tobio-kun. Anyway,  _bye_."

She made a point to walk away but hadn't even made it when Kageyama called after her, "Good luck."

Sumire halted, turning just a little. She smiled, even though she knew Kageyama couldn't see it. "Thanks."

By the time she had made it to the designated meeting spot, Naoko was impatiently tapping her foot, vexed. Oikawa and Iwaizumi seemed to be making a half-hearted effort of soothing her ire but she didn't look very understanding at all.

"What took you so long, Sumire-chan?" she demanded, a reproachful look on her features.

"Sorry." Sumire bowed in apology. "But I'm here now."

"The director approached us a few minutes ago," Oikawa said airily. "Apparently, you and Mako-chan need to be backstage with the rest of the contestants."

Sumire gave Naoko a worried look. "What about practice?"

"We'll still be able to rehearse," Naoko said. "We have an hour before the Standoff starts."

"O-okay."

"We'll go find some seats," Iwaizumi informed them, giving Oikawa and Tadashi a sideways glance. "We'll see you on stage. Do your best."

"Good luck~" Oikawa added, flashing them a grin. "We believe in you, okay? So relax."

Tadashi nodded mutely, looking elated at the prospect of sitting near Oikawa.

"Thank you." Naoko's gaze softened just a tad as the boys parted with them with nothing but kind and encouraging words. "Are you ready?" she asked Sumire as they went backstage and walked into one of the set up rehearsal studios.

"Ah..." Sumire bit her lip. "Is it okay if I say no...?"

Naoko snorted softly. "Yeah. Just relax, like Oikawa said."

"I'll try my hardest to relax!" Sumire said, her voice going just a little bit higher and squeakier than usual.

Naoko sweatdropped.  _Oh boy... Does she realize how contradictory those two things are...?_

* * *

In the Karasuno gym, Daichi suddenly sneezed violently.

"Bless you," said Suga as he walked past with a volleyball in his hands.

"Ah, thank you..."

"Someone's talking about you, Daichi!" Noya shouted from across the court. "Probably a cute girl!"

"Unfair!" Tanaka complained, hands on hips. "Why aren't there any cute girls talking about  _us_?"

"I bet it's Michimiya-san," Asahi teased lightly as he took a swig from his water bottle.

"Hah?" A blush spread across Daichi's cheeks. "Why would she be talking about me...?"

"It's so obvious that she likes you," Suga pointed out.

"No, she doesn't."

Suga and Asahi exchanged a glance.

"Yes, she does," they said in unison.

Daichi sighed.

* * *

Leiko stood in the room alone, staring at the microphone that rested upon her open palm.

 _Sing,_ a little voice in her head goaded.  _Don't you want to win?_

She did.

In fact, she'd been arguing with herself for the past hour already, which was a new record. But she never found the strength to lift the voice enhancer up to her lips. The microphone was as heavy as lead in her hand.

_How pathetic._

_You deserve to die._

_You can't even help yourself. What makes you think you can help your precious nee-san?_

_There's a reason why he_ —

The door opened and Leiko's head snapped up, the light catching the lens of her glasses. She immediately sneered.

"Its awfully rude to interrupt someone while they're practicing," she drawled, spinning the microphone in her hand.

Naoko hardly reacted, even when her younger sibling—the one with the short hair—peeked around her shoulder.

"Apologies," Naoko said stiffly. "I didn't hear any... practicing going on so I assumed it was empty."

"Tch. Sure you did..." Leiko crossed her arms. "What are you doing here, Naoko? Trying to squeeze in some last minute practice?" She tauntingly tapped her wristwatch with one slender finger. "There's only ten minutes left until rehearsals end."

"Ten minutes is enough."

"Mm... your friends are in the crowd, yes?"

"Aren't yours?"

A tense silence ensued and the youngest cleared her throat.

"Naoko-nee—"

"Just take it," interrupted Leiko, marching off. "You'd put better use to this room."

And then she was gone, closing the door behind her, the slam echoing around the otherwise soundless room.

* * *

"Man," Sumire commented as Leiko left. "It's bad enough that they kicked us out from our other room for a stupid hazard or whatever. We just had to run into her..." She glanced at Naoko. "What's your history with her?" When Naoko didn't answer immediately, she added, "We're not actually going to practice, are we? The dragon lady has a point. Ten minutes..." She hummed. "I'd rather spend that time not stressing out over this."

"You played fine before," Naoko, who was leaning against the wall, said quietly, absentmindedly drawing circles on her rented violin with one finger. "Just do the same in the actual thing."

Sumire visibly swallowed. "I'll try. I'll try my best."

"Good." Naoko's eyes moved up to meet Sumire's. "That's all I need from you."

"Is Leiko always like that to everyone?" Sumire asked, sitting down on the wooden floor at Naoko's feet. She propped her head against her big sister's calf.

"I don't know," Naoko said truthfully, "about everyone. But, so far, she's treated people as poorly as she does whenever I've been around. Who knows, though?" Her lips quicker upward in an expression of wryness. "There might be that special someone who she can actually be civil to."

Outside, they could hear footsteps as the contestants were ushered out of the private studios to watch the first of the soloists begin their performance. The door to their room opened too, and a balding man called for the sisters to join everyone else.

Quietly, they got to their feet and followed the crowd, authorities leading them to a separate seating area reserved just for participants and some high-ranking staff members.

These, for lack of a better term, VIP seatings, were nearby the judge's table. The judging panel consisted of a team of five; three men and two women.

"Nee-chan!" Sumire gasped in Naoko's ear as they sat down beside each other, sandwiched by their opponents. "L-look!"

"Hm?" She craned her neck just as the girl up on stage began to sing. The male sitting in front of her was particularly tall. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Sumire looked like she was about to explode by the rate her face was reddening. "The female judge at the end of the table. Don't you recognise her?"

The judge's table was placed diagonally to the VIP seating, so, once she glanced in the right direction, Naoko had a good view of just who Sumire was referring to.

And from the bemused light in her eyes, Sumire knew for sure that Naoko had absolutely no idea just who she was staring at.

"Charlene Cho," a familiar, whispery voice supplied helpfully. "She's a rising star in the J-pop and K-pop industry."

The girls turned around in their seats to meet the pimply face of Mizushima Tsubaki, who smiled shyly, the camera still dangling around her neck.

"Mizushima-san," Sumire greeted with just a hint of guilt.

"Charlene Cho?" Naoko echoed. Up on stage, the girl was finishing her not-so-good rendition of some famous opera. "Shouldn't it be Cho Charlene?"

"She was born in the west to an Australian woman," Sumire told her. "Her father is Korean and her mother is white. In the west, they put first names first."

Naoko nodded slowly. "Impressive. You said she's in the K-pop and J-pop industry, right? Does that mean she taught herself Japanese?"

"She moved to Tokyo when she was five years old and picked up the language from there. She also knows English from her mother and Korean from her father!" Mizushima gushed. "Isn't she cool?"

"Yeah..." Naoko blinked curiously at Charlene Cho's flawless, powdered face, watching her smile sorrowfully at the first soloist and thank her for her performance. The woman sitting smack dab in the middle called for the next contestant. As she did, some stage directors were getting a handful of people in the front row of the VIP seating to go backstage in order to prepare themselves for their soon upcoming turns.

"The beautiful lady speaking now is called A.R.I.A," said Mizushima, Sumire nodding in confirmation. The chubby girl was really displaying her talkative side. "She's thirty years old but looks so young!"

"Wow, thirty?" exclaimed Sumire. "I thought she was still twenty something!"

"Stop talking to the enemy," a new voice interrupted. A girl with hair as orange as the summer sunset was glaring daggers at the conversationalists.

Immediately, Mizushima leaned back in her chair and ducked her head. "S-sorry Rin-chan."

"Hmph."

Without Mizushima to liven things up a bit, the solo performances dragged on and on. The Makoshima sisters could hardly keep their eyes open.

Until number fifteen emerged on stage, her back straight and her choppy brown bangs swept to the side.

"Hello, dear," Charlene Cho said with one of her refreshing smiles. Her hair, black with streaks of brown in it, was tossed over her shoulder. "What's your name?"

"Park Leiko."

"Ooh, Korean. It's so nice to have a fellow Korean performing. Is there anything you'd like to tell us about your act?"

"Yes, actually," said Leiko.

When she didn't continue on, one of the male judges prompted her. "Well?"

"My... singing... isn't going to be in Japanese. Or Italian," she added as an afterthought, remembering the terrible opera the first contestant had sung.

Many eyebrows were raised at the revelation (and perhaps at the subtle jab Leiko had made at contestant number one).

"Oh?" A.R.I.A mused, her tattooed eyebrows quirked. "Then what language? Are you going to sing in Korean? Because Cho is looking forward to hearing some K-pop from, well, anyone, really."

"I'm going to be doing it in English."

The audience fell silent before murmuring amongst one another.

The judges put their heads down to scribble something on their notepads before a male judge looked up. He had a flat gaze that could discourage even the most optimistic person.

"And what, pray tell, is that going to be? I've heard a fair share of English pop in my time and they simply do  _not_ match up to J-pop or J-rock."

Leiko smiled and Naoko couldn't help but stare. Such a soft and lovely smile did not belong on Leiko's face. It was... unnatural.

"Maybe so," she said. "But I don't regret my choice."

"May I ask, what exactly is your choice of song?"

A brief pause.

Leiko lifted the microphone to her mouth and parted her lips. "Rap God. Eminem."

"Brave," praised Cho. "Okay, enough talk." She waved her hand at her. "You may begin." The rising star wriggled in her seat. "Oh, how exciting..." She might have meant the last part to be private but the headset she was wearing broadcasted her comment to everyone within the stage's vicinity.

Through the speakers, the music began to play. The male judge, a man that Naoko had grown to lowkey dislike despite hardly knowing him, curled his lip in disgust. As if Leiko simply wasn't worth his time because she had chosen to sing in a different language.

Leiko lifted her head, a shit-eating grin spreading across her face as the beat boomed.

_"Look, I was gonna go easy on you and not to hurt your feelings._

_"But I'm only going to get this one chance."_

With a sneer, Naoko met Leiko's eyes as the latter's gaze fell upon the former. Somehow, the ravenette couldn't help but feel like Leiko's spitfire roasts were directed toward her.

And she didn't mind one bit.

In fact, she relished in it.

* * *

_Boom._

_Boom._

_Boomboomboomboom_ —

"Fuck, this is loud," Kageyama grumbled.

"Are you kidding?!" Katsumi shrieked. "This is awesome! Gooo Leiko!"

"Uwaah, Kageyama! So you understand what she's saying?!"

"No, I don't, you dumbass!"

"Don't so angry, Tobio-chan," a snide voice added. "It's very unbecoming."

Kageyama's eye twitched.  _Idiots. I am surrounded by idiots. Morons, all of them._

Of course  _he_ would have the misfortune of being seated where he was. Shortly after Sumire had left him with the multi-colored hair people, said multi-colored hair people had gotten themselves a new member for their multi-colored hair club in the form of one bubbly Hinata Shouyo, who had seated himself beside Kageyama.

Then Hinata made a nuisance of himself by leaning over Kageyama constantly to talk to those multi-colored hair people. And, even worse, they had talked back to him, even when Kageyama shot Katsumi—the girl who he had regarded as 'senpai' just more than an hour ago—a pleading look.

Kageyama had tried to clamp his hand over Hinata's mouth but that only resulted in him getting the shorter boy's saliva all over his fingers.

And then, to top it all off, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Tadashi all decided to plant their butts directly behind him.

Iwaizumi had shot him an apologetic look.

And, amidst all this noise, Kageyama found himself appreciating Iwaizumi a lot more than he had before.

This was going to be one long show.

 _"... A laptop in my back pocket_ — _"_

"So fast!" Midori screeched.

"Shut up, Midori, you're killing my ears!" cried Toshio.

"Quiet!" ordered Ayame, palming both of their faces.

"Hey, Iwa-chan, you think you could go that fast?"

"... I'm just going to ignore how that sounds."

"Pfff, so dirty-minded, Iwa-chan!"

 _"Got a fat knot from that rap profit_ — _"_

Hinata tried to imitate Leiko but it came out as a warbled mess.

Yes, Kageyama decided, a vein popping on his forehead, this  _was_ going to be one hell of a long ass show.

* * *

 _**A/N:** _ _**Yes, Leiko is rapping Eminem's Rap God! I had her song choice pinned for a while now, and I've been itching to put it into words. Copying and pasting lyrics is against the fanfiction.net rules, and this story originates from there, so that's out of the question. Just put the song on (there are some good female covers out there) and enjoy, I guess.** _

**_And what's this...? If you don't skim/squint hard enough, there's a small side shipping moment._ **

**_If you spotted it, congratulations!_ **

**_You get nothing._ **


	19. Sendai Stand Up

_Always stand up for what you believe in... even if it means standing alone._

—  _Kim Hanks_

* * *

"A-amazing," Mizushima Tsubaki whispered in awe of Leiko's performance. She nearly dropped her flute from all the sweat that was gathering in the palm of her hand. Her hair, which she normally wore up in a high ponytail, just so happened to be down today, falling in waves down to her waist. Inwardly, she cursed at the feeling of her tresses sticking to the nape of her neck.

Beside her, her friend Ryouta Rin, a beautiful young lady with hair as orange as the sunset, snorted in contempt. "She's not  _that_ good," she sniffed. "I bet we could outdo her any day." She flipped her side ponytail behind her back. "You're being stupid again,  _Tsubaka_."

"S-sorry, Rin-chan." Her face flushed as she heard several other girls snicker loudly.  _Sorry,_ she repeated in her head, hoping that one word would make the cackling stop.  _I'm sorry. I'm sorry for speaking out of turn. I won't do it again. I'm sorry._

"She's not even in the same division as us," Ryouta continued. If she heard the whispering, she ignored it. "She's a soloist, not a team player."

Personally, Mizushima didn't see  _why_ that mattered. Either way, this Park Leiko was pretty damn good at what she was doing.

"They better have our school pennants ready," another piped up—a second year called Susumu Sora. Her red-rimmed glasses glistened in the sunlight. "The Textiles Club worked so hard on them and it'd be a real shame if the directors of the Standoff screwed up."

"I wouldn't worry, Sora-chan," Ryouta reassured, smirking. "With or without the pendants, we're going to knock out the rest of our competition."

"You sound very sure of yourself," a voice came from the row in front. Naoko had turned around and was regarding Ryouta with a flat, unimpressed gaze. "If I may say so."

Ryouta wasn't fazed. "Well,  _duh_. Don't you know who I am? Who we are?"

"No," Naoko said bluntly, and Mizushima died a little on the inside. The cheek of this girl! To speak to  _the_ Ryouta Rin that way. But, secretly, the ungainly girl was just a  _teensy_ bit glad of Naoko's actions.

Ryouta flushed, flicking her orange hair—which had crept back onto her shoulder—back again, caught off guard by Naoko's—er—frank personality. "W-well, I'm gonna tell you and you're going to piss yourself from realizing just how outclassed you are!" She puffed out her chest in pride. "My name... is Ryouta Rin!"

There was a tense silence as all the girls that were part of Ryouta's act stared at Naoko, trying to gauge her response. The ravenette opened her mouth and almost everybody took a deep breath.

"Doesn't ring a bell."

Ryouta nearly fell forward in disbelief. She sweatdropped heavily at Naoko's indifference. "D-dummy! I'm Ryouta Rin! Don't you read any of the music magazines?! My face has been in there plenty of times!"

"Music magazines?" Naoko echoed. By now, their conversation had caught the attention of Sumire, who looked a tad nervous. "No, I don't. I don't have time for those things."

"Rin-chan," Susumu soothed, patting her leader's arm. "I'm sorry you have to deal with such ignorant people..."

"Damn right!"

"Look." Naoko shot them all an annoyed look. "If you're not going to answer my question properly, then just forget about it." She turned back to face the front where Leiko was practically breathing fire but Ryouta wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Hold on a sec! I can't stand it when so-called musicians don't even know my name." Ryouta glared furiously into Naoko's grey, impassive orbs. Her lack of reaction seemed to only fuel Ryouta's fire.

"Er, Naoko-nee..." Sumire faltered just by seeing how royally pissed off Ryouta was.

"If you have something to say to me, then say it," said Naoko, her gaze shifting to where Leiko was rapping onstage. "The girl performing right now is someone I know and I don't want to miss the entire thing."

"W-why you—" Ryouta cut herself off, taking a deep breath to try to calm herself. "Ugh!" She turned her nose up at Naoko, who merely looked  _bored_. "A-alright, fine... so you don't know me... I guess there are  _some_ people living under a rock." She smirked. "But  _surely_... you've heard of this!"

"Heard of what? Stop wasting my time if you're just going to beat around the bush."

 _Oh my god,_ Mizushima thought, horrified.  _She's so cute... but she's got guts! How?! Rin-chan is so scary when she's angry...!_ Her meaty hands were literally shaking and she could barely hold on to her flute.

"I am Ryouta Rin!" Ryouta declared with flair, her side ponytail swaying side to side. "And I am..." A dramatic pause that, judging by the impatient look on her face, Naoko thought was wholly unnecessary. "The Concertmaster of the prestigious orchestra of Shiratorizawa Academy!"

Almost everybody seated in Ryouta's nearby vicinity stopped paying attention to Leiko and stared at Ryouta.

Then, a quivery voice piped, "We wish to withdraw from the competition."

The speaker, a disheartened teenager, was escorted out of the VIP seating area along with his three-man band, who looked just as dejected as him after Ryouta's great revelation.

"You see?!" Ryouta screeched at Naoko. " _That_ is what I do to people!  _That_ is what I do to naive fools who can only  _dream_ of being in my league! Of standing on the same stage as me!" She pointed a finger right at Naoko's face; the girl had not so much as twitched. " _Got it?_ I'm going to  _crush_ you! As long as I'm around, you will  _never_ win."

Ryouta was now panting hard but looking triumphant. Mizushima swallowed, hoping that Ryouta had not scared Naoko and Sumire out of the competition. Mainly because, well, Mizushima  _liked_ them. They were virtual strangers but they were nice enough. They didn't deserve to be bullied out of their dreams by someone as cruel and vicious as Ryouta.

Mizushima shook her head.  _Stop it! Rin-chan is not cruel and vicious! She's my best friend!_

"Whatever floats your boat."

With that, Naoko turned in her seat, now facing the stage.

Susumu's jaw dropped and her glasses nearly slipped off her nose. She wasn't the only one to falter. Most of the Shiratorizawa girls were looking just as shell-shocked at Naoko's reaction. Or, rather, lack of thereof. Even Mizushima was stupefied.

Sumire breathed a small sigh of relief and swiveled back to facing the front.

 _Did... Did she just shut down Rin-chan?_ Mizushima thought numbly.  _That... was so cool...!_ But she couldn't let it show. Not in front of Ryouta. The orange-haired girl would strangle her if she dared to burst into peals of laughter  _now_  of all times.

Ryouta definitely wasn't happy about this turn of events. Naoko was supposed to break down and blubber before apologizing to her with a deep bow! Not... whatever had transpired!

"I'm going to enjoy whooping her ass," Ryouta muttered sullenly. "Then we'll see if she's so fucking smug..."

Mizushima's flute clattered to the floor and she blushed before leaning down to pick it up. She hadn't realized how violently she was trembling. Boy, that had been scary.

"Good two-shoes," Susumu hissed into Mizushima's ear. "What's wrong with a little swearing? Don't be a wussy."

"S-sorry," Mizushima squeaked, even though Ryouta's potty mouth wasn't what had surprised her. She had heard the Concertmaster swear plenty of times.

* * *

_It's over._

Hands quivering, Leiko let her arms fall to the side, the microphone nearly slipping out of her grip. Slowly, the song faded away. Her features reverting into a scowl, she regarded the audience with defiant eyes.

Her stomach lurched.

_Get out of here. Now._

But her feet were rooted to the spot.

_You screwed the fuck up! Now Yoko's never going to be able to get the money!_

_Hundreds of animals are going to be homeless and on the streets because of you._

_You're so goddamn pathetic._

_Go running back to your toilet._

_There's no one there to hold your hair back._

The audience burst into applause and Leiko's head ached from the noise.

The applause was overwhelming, to say the least. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that her performance had recieved the loudest claps so far.

"Bravo!" Midori screeched from the audience. "Again! Again! Antcore!"

"It's encore!" Toshio corrected, looking just as elated as Midori, something which surprised Leiko. "Encore! Encore!"

Leiko tore her gaze away from them, finding Naoko sitting beside her younger sister. The ravenette looked apathetic as always, but... there was some... degree of newfound respect in her eyes, she supposed.

Her eyes travelled back to the drama club. Two strangers were sitting with them—a boy with orange hair and another boy with black hair that looked almost blue in the sunlight. She had met him before, when she had gone up to Naoko to antagonize her. He had been there. But the sunshine boy was a stranger. Just another face in the crowd.

And yet, he clapped and cheered like there was no tomorrow.

Behind them, the Prince of Aobajosai himself was giving her a polite round of applause, looking quite impressed. Beside, him Iwaizumi was doing the same. And Naoko's brother—Tadashi, was it?—looked riveted.

And Yoko...

Leiko swallowed.

Yoko was positively  _beaming._ Tears were running down her cheeks and pooling at her chin but she wore the biggest grin on her face.

_Why?_

The clapping hands boomed in her head.

Somewhere in the depths of her mind, a belt lashed, cracking in the air.

_No._

_No!_

_NO!_

_STOP IT!_

Charlene Cho stood up with a smile, her pearly white teeth showing. But Leiko couldn't have cared less. The rising star opened her mouth to say something but someone beat her to it.

_"SHUT UUUUUUPP!"_

And that someone, she quickly came to realize, was  _her_. Leiko had brought the microphone back up to her mouth. Her command resonated throughout the entire place and the speakers whined. Her throat was raw.

She heaved, shuddering with each breath she took as she hunched over.

The audience and judges had entered a shocked silence.

Her friends—Ayame, Midori, Katsumi and, yes, even Toshio—looked mildly terrified of her outburst. The orange-haired kid's excitement had died down and he was staring at her with confusion. The black-haired kid was frowning.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi gave each other bemused glances, though the former seemed a little too pleased about the current situation. On the other hand, Iwaizumi's harsh gaze was tinged with concern. Tadashi could only be described as 'effectively cowed'.

Naoko was frowning, her arms crossed. Her younger sister's face had blanked.

Leiko couldn't even bring herself to look at Yoko's direction.

Slowly, Cho sat back down, concern in her gaze.

_It's over._

The microphone fell to the ground with a loud  _thud!_

Feeling like she would fall into pieces at any given moment, Leiko spun on her heel and disappeared behind the curtains.

* * *

As soon as Leiko was gone, the judges instantly tried to take control of the situation.

"Ah, we are terribly sorry for... that," a portly male judge apologized, dabbing his nervous sweat away with a handkerchief. "Don't worry, ladies and gentleman, this changes nothing. The Sendai Standoff will still proceed normally." He clicked off his headset and hissed to a nearby stage director, "Make sure she doesn't do anything rash!"

"Got it," said the stage director, scurrying backstage.

"Well..." Oikawa drawled from his seat. "That was interesting. What did you think, Iwa-chan?"

"'Interesting' is one way to put it. What the hell happened to her up there?"

"Hmm? I dunno."

"Oi," Iwaizumi said gravely. "Did you see how distressed she was?"

"Well, now that you mention it..."  _I did see, Iwa-chan. There was no way anyone could have missed the way her face transformed into... terror?_ Was that what it was? But  _what_ had scared her into essentially telling  _Charlene Cho_ to shut up?

"Her performance was excellent up until that point," A.R.I.A said smoothly, her cat-like eyes gleaming. "Truly astounding. Tell me, Souma, has she changed your perspective of western pop?"

Souma—the male judge to A.R.I.A's left that seemed to have a perpetual stick up his ass—sneered. "Hardly. In fact, she only confirmed my opinion on how distasteful western pop is with her post-performance behavior. A truly  _ugly_ and  _worthless_ girl who doesn't even deserve to stand on that stage."

No one dared to argue with him. Even A.R.I.A seemed a little put out by his cruel comments.

"That's unfair," Iwaizumi muttered. "What an asshole..."

Oikawa, grimacing, nodded in agreement.

"Which," Souma continued, his voice cutting, "brings me to my next point. It was  _so_ incredibly obvious that she wasn't professionally trained in any way, shape or form. Just another rat off the street. She will  _never_ be as good as anyone else here. All the ones that have been  _trained_ and  _worked hard_ to achieve what they have. Tsk, she was an utter disgrace!"

Silence rang through the area.

"But, Souma," Cho said mildly, "don't you think you're being a bit too harsh?"

"Harsh? Cho, my dear, she told  _you_ to shut up. You should be just as offended as me. That girl waltzed up on stage thinking she was as good as the rest of us. She turned her nose up at us. Is it not natural to turn our nose up back at her? I'll reiterate: She will  _never_ be as good as a  _proper_ musician. I want her out of his competition!"

"What?!" Kageyama cried, outraged at the injustice that was unfolding before his eyes. He might not have liked Leiko but this... "That's so dumb!"

Toshio clenched his fists in frustration, feeling utterly powerless. "Damn it...!"

"No!" Katsumi and Midori gasped.

Ayame was speechless, staring at the head of the person sitting in front of her.

"Kick her out of the competition?" the portly male judge exclaimed, his eyes bulging. "That'd... be a disgrace!"

"She is unworthy of being a contestant. She  _is_ a disgrace," Souma said, nodding his head assertively. "As Head Judge, removing a contestant from the Sendai Standoff is within my power. Meaning that none of you can veto my decision."

By now, everyone was exchanging unsure glances. But what could they do? They were just... bystanders. They couldn't do a thing. Everything was left up to Souma, who seemed to have made up his mind.

"Oh no..." Mizushima moaned and buried her face into her hands.

"Oh, cheer up," Ryouta snapped. "Souma's right. She'll never be one of us, Tsubaka."

"Very well," the portly judge sighed heavily. "Park Leiko has been dis—"

A single figure stood up in the crowd. She was not very tall, and, as such, had to stand on top of her seat.

"You would disqualify her because she has not been professionally trained?" Naoko said icily.

Silence fell.

"Is she insane?!" Kageyama exclaimed in his inside voice.

"No," Oikawa answered, his gaze flicking to the raven-haired setter. He smirked knowingly. "Insane people don't think right."

Kageyama shot him a questioning glance but Oikawa didn't follow up his unspoken question.

"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Ayame murmured, wringing her hands.

"I didn't even know she was in the competition," said Katsumi, wide-eyed.

"Little girl, what do you think you're doing?" Souma drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"That's an inane decision on your part," Naoko said matter-of-factly. "If you're going to disqualify her, at least have an actual reason. Your narrow-minded thinking is what prevents budding artists from pursuing their dreams. Who are you to decide who gets to do what, Souma-san?" She turned to the crowd, her eyes flashing. "Hard work, sacrifice and passion are not exclusively found in prestigious schools and whatnot." Then she was facing Souma's less than friendly gaze again. "I cannot stop you from excluding her from the competition. But if you're going to do that based on such reasoning..." Naoko glanced at the other competitors sitting in the VIP section. "You might as well disqualify myself and my sister. And half of the other contestants. The contestants who have worked just as hard and sacrificed just as much just to partake in your competition alongside the ones you deem more desirable."

Then she stepped off her chair and sat back down, ignoring the fact that all eyes were on her.

Oikawa smiled, the action a bit watery.  _Mako-chan... you might actually make me tear up._ Before he knew it, he was standing up, Iwaizumi blinking up at him in surprise.  _Good on you, Mako-chan. I knew there was a reason I kept you around._ He brought his hands together...

And clapped.

The sound echoed throughout the area—the stadium, if you will.

Then Iwaizumi stood up, smirking at Oikawa as he too started to applaud as loud as he could.

A chain reaction had been sparked.

Hinata practically jumped into standing position and clapped as loud as he could, dragging Kageyama with him. The setter wasted no time in clapping alongside his upperclassmen and Hinata, and looked damn proud while doing so.

They were soon followed by a shy Tadashi and a vehement drama club.

And then the rest of the audience; everyone stood up and began to applaud at their own rate. Soon, the clapping drowned out every other noise. Not a single bird could be heard chirping in the golden-leaved trees.

Naoko blinked. "Huh."

Her words had hit home with the hundreds of musicians who had done so much and worked so hard just to be here. She had spoken when they couldn't, because they had been too afraid of how a judge considered 'all-knowing' in the music industry would retaliate.

But Souma was human.

And, Naoko realized, that everyone here had gotten the same memo.

"Keep her in!" one guy shouted, raising his violin in the air passionately. "Keep her in!"

The crowd began to chant in his example. "Keep her in! Keep her in! Keep her in!"

Even Mizushima couldn't contain her ecstasy. "Keep her in!" she cried, ignoring the dirty glares her band mates were giving her.

"Keep her in!" Hinata, Midori, and Katsumi all caterwauled at the same time. "Keep her in!"

"Keep her in!" Oikawa cheered, also getting caught up. "Keep her in! Keep her in!"

"Hard work!" Naoko suddenly shouted, standing once more and gathering all the attention. "Sacrifice! Passion! Dedication! It's something we all have! We are not here to waste your time, Souma. We are here to  _win_!"

The crowd roared in response.

But Naoko wasn't finished. "All of us deserve to be here, no matter what you say or think."

It was then Charlene Cho joined in, grinning stupidly. "She's got you there, Souma. I say keep her in!"

"What?" Souma spluttered, glancing around himself. "I-I—"

"Keep her in!" the round judge said heartily, encouraged by the amount of noise the audience was making about the matter. "Come on, now, Souma! I say keep her in!"

"Keep her in! Keep her in!" the crowd bellowed.

The last male judge looked bewildered. Clearly, he wasn't going to be backing up Souma anytime soon.

A.R.I.A stood up next. "I agree with the one who was brave enough to speak." She turned her cat-like pupils onto Naoko. "Thank you for opening some eyes around here."

Souma frowned deeply, staring at his notepad. Around him, the crowd continued to chant and stamp their feet. He looked up. "Fine. She may stay."

If it were even possible, the cheering grew louder.

"Now, can someone get me a coffee?!" Souma demanded into his headset. "Tsk..."

"Nee-chan..." Sumire stared at Naoko with awe. "Hot damn, that was cool. Not gonna lie."

Naoko looked at her funny. "Ah, thanks...?"

Sumire sunk into her seat, smiling. "No problem. Man, this has been a tiring day..."

"You can sleep when we get home."

"Hah. Trust me, I will."

* * *

As they called for the next performer, Charlene Cho found herself paying little attention to the boy on stage and more attention on the black-haired girl who had stood up to Souma.

_Now there's a musician._

For what she did, Cho honestly believed that the girl deserved a reward of some sort. But first, she had to know her name.

Cho smiled.

She had made up her mind.

* * *

As soon as Leiko had screamed into the microphone, Yoko had been out of her seat and dashing to backstage to meet her sister.

Some security personnel had gotten in her way but a higher authority had reluctantly let through once she revealed her relation to Leiko.

"Keep her under control," he had said gruffly.

"Of course," she had replied, struggling to keep civil.

And now she stood outside the female's restroom block backstage, her own stomach curdling as she listened to Leiko retch inside.

"Nee-chan," she called worriedly. "Do you want me to come in? I'll hold your hair back."

"No," Leiko rasped through the door. "I don't want you to see me like this. Go away."

"Leiko, I've seen you throw up before. This will be no different."

"Yoko, just leave!"

"... Please don't push me away again."

"I'll talk to you later. Just... leave me alone for now."

Sighing, Yoko made herself comfortable, sitting on the floor in a crisscross-applesauce position.

And then the voices began. So loud that Leiko was guaranteed to hear it.

When Yoko heard what the judge—Souma—had to say, she was livid. She half wanted to go out here screaming like a maniac but that would only work against her. So she leaned against the wall of the bathroom block, dying slowly inside.

Leiko let out an agonized moan when Souma attempted to disqualify her.

But Yoko no longer cared about the competition. What she did care about, however, was the derogatory words that bastard Souma referred to her as.

Then she spoke. A mysterious voice from the audience who stood up for Leiko when nobody else did.

Then came the cheering and clapping.

It was all a blur to Yoko.

But blur or otherwise, she was grateful.

_Thank you._

And so, Yoko guarded the bathroom door, awaiting Leiko's emergence.

* * *

_**A/N:** _ **_Here's the missing character sheet for Tadashi~_ **

**OC Character Sheet:**

**Full name:** Makoshima Tadashi

 **DOB:** November 18th

 **Age:** 19

 **Height:** 190.5cm (6'3)

 **Weight:** 77kg

 **Appearance** **:** Tall and lanky with short blonde hair and ice blue eyes. The epitome of a European beauty even though he is 100% Japanese.

 **Occupation:** Student (3rd year in high school)

 **School:**  Aobajosai

 **Favorite food:** Pork curry with rice

 **Current concern(s):** How do I confess to Oikawa-kun...? Will he return my affections? What would Naachan think?

**Statistics (out of 5):**

Power: 2

Jump: 3

Stamina: 3

Strategy: 3

Technique: 2

Speed: 2


	20. Princes of Piano

_I spoke up for her because she couldn't speak for herself._

—  _Naoko Makoshima_

* * *

"... And that's all for today's solo category!" A.R.I.A boomed into her headset, smiling. "Feel free to take a stand up and take a walk around during this intermission. The group's category will begin in ten minutes!"

In her seat, Naoko stretched, feeling her bones popping. "That was... tedious."

Most of the soloists that had chosen to do singing hadn't done that great. In fact, they only served to make Leiko's performance look even better. The ones that had played an instrument, on the other hand, went far beyond the former's skill level.

"Tell me about it," sighed Sumire, shaking her arms to remove the numbness. "I can't even feel my butt anymore. Thank god they're letting us stand."

They had just managed to get out into the open where a lot of the other contestants were gathered when a figure swept past the others and stopped in front of them. Sumire stiffened and became wide-eyed as Charlene Cho regarded them with a graceful smile.

"Hello," she said. "I was very impressed by what you did earlier. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

Sumire's jaw practically dropped to the floor at Cho's request.

"I suppose," Naoko answered cautiously, frowning slightly. What did Charlene Cho want with them? Why would she even talk to them at all? She was a superstar and they were... well... mundane, to put it simply. "My name is Makoshima Naoko." Then, remembering that Cho was born in the west, flushed and corrected, "Naoko Makoshima."

Cho seemed to notice her mild discomfort and giggled. "It's fine. Don't let my background influence yours. That wouldn't be very fair. But I'm curious, Makoshima-chan, what exactly possessed you to stand up to Souma? Is Park-chan your friend? You certainly gave off the impression that you know her back there."

"Ah." Naoko shook her head. "I know her, yes, but we are not friends. Far from that, actually. She seems to find pleasure in antagonizing almost everyone she knows or meets, and I'm no exception."

"Oh, I see." Cho looked slightly confused. "Then why did you do it? If you don't like her."

Sumire had to turn away at that point.  _The_ Charlene Cho was talking to  _her_ sister! And Naoko was acting like it was no big deal! How?! Sumire screeched inside her head, hoping she didn't look like she was having some sort of panic attack.  _Oh my gawwd._

"It's true I don't like her..." Naoko brows knitted together in concentration, caught a bit off guard by her question. "But... not even she deserves what happened to her. Especially since she wasn't there and therefore wasn't able to speak in her own defense. I spoke up for her because she couldn't speak for herself." She snorted softly. "And Souma-san's reasoning... was less than reasonable to put it politely. No offence, Cho-san."

"None taken," Cho reassured her, her eyes twinkling. "Souma can be very cold and harsh. There's no point in denying that. I don't necessarily agree with all his thought processes and methods..."

As she was no longer facing the rising star, Sumire got a good view of what seemed to be some kind of confrontation between the Shiratorizawa girls and Mizushima. But this time, it looked as if Mizushima was no longer playing the role of the doormat. Mostly because she was actually  _shouting_ and looking  _pissed off._ Prior to this, Sumire couldn't even begin to imagine sweet, shy Mizushima get  _annoyed_ let alone  _angry._

Seeing that Naoko was proccupied with Cho— _the_ Charlene Cho!—it was the perfect opportunity for her to scoot a little bit closer and blend in with the rest of the crowd, who were either oblivious to the confrontation or choosing to ignore it entirely. A lot of eyes followed her as she pretended to be part of a group of girls who were chatting happily and looking genuinely comfortable with each other. Obviously, Naoko and Cho's conversation was not going unnoticed. Most of the glances people shot her sister were either jealous ones, shocked ones or admiring ones.

"... What the hell are you talking about?!" Ryouta's voice rang through Sumire's ears as the latter drew closer to them, having found shelter in the inconspicuous girl group that had yet to even notice her. The Concertmaster's eyes flashed with a demonic fury and her orange hair seemed to stand on end.

"I'm saying that your way of thinking isn't right!" Mizushima argued, growing increasingly frustrated. "Why did you have to be the only one in the entire arena that disagreed with Naoko-chan? Even if you didn't voice it very loudly, your opinion was still there! And... And it annoys me!"

"Oh,  _please_. So you're siding with  _plebeians_ now?" Ryouta sneered and flipped her hair, a gesture that Sumire was really starting to get irritated with. If only she could sneak up on that PMSing bitch and rip off that stupid ponytail... "Have you forgotten who we are? What Shiratorizawa stands for?"

"Shiratorizawa is just a name! It doesn't mean anything! Can't you see that? Being part of Shiratorizawa  _doesn't_ make us better than everyone else."

"Oh, yeah? Then what does?"

"Hard work, passion, dedication and sacrifice. That is what shapes a person... not... not some school name!"

Ryouta burst out laughing, as if Mizushima had said the funniest thing in the world. "Oh my gawwd! So you're quoting that short spaz now? How low can you go?"

Mizushima was visibly upset, slowly losing the resolve she had built up. "S-stop that! Why are you being like this? You're supposed to be my friend."

_I don't know what the hell she is to you but she is definitely not your friend,_ Sumire thought grimly.  _Dammit, Mizushima, let go already!_

"Friend?" Ryouta shrieked with laughter. "Are you  _delusional_? You  _actually_ think we're  _friends_?"

"W-well... you said..."

"Oh my gawwd! You do!" Ryouta pointed a finger in her face, guffawing. "Get a load of this, girls! This  _disgusting little pig_ actually thinks we're her friends! How funny is that?!" She snorted, sounding more pig-like than Mizushima would ever be. "Well, let me tell you this,  _piggy._ I am  _not_ your friend and I never  _will be._ Why the hell would anyone even  _want_ to be friends with you?! The only reason I even bother to  _tolerate_ your fucking pitiful existence is because we need a good flutist in the orchestra."

Sumire couldn't help it. She gasped quietly, clasping a hand over her mouth.  _How... could she say that?!_

"So cheer up, honey," Ryouta crowed. "At least your actually  _good_ at something that's worth my time. If you weren't, I wouldn't have even acknowledged you or talked to you in the first place, Tsubaka."

Just a bit behind Ryouta, Susumu shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with her glasses, pretending that they were caught in her short red hair. She tried to flatten her ahoge but that only garnered Ryouta's attention.

"Right, Sora-chan?"

_Don't agree with her,_ Sumire pleaded silently.  _You're scared of her, aren't you?_ She glanced over all of the uncomfortable and even terrified looking girls.  _All of you are. There are so many of you. So why won't you stand up to her?_

"R-right..." Susumu muttered, casting her gaze downwards. "Y-you should be grateful that Rin-chan even talks to you, piggy!" She tried to sound as mean as she could but was miserably failing.

By now, Mizushima was full-on crying. Tears dribbled down her fat cheeks and onto her barely visible collarbone. She tried to push her black hair out of her eyes but her fingers were trembling too much for the action to be effective. Her beautiful bronze flute lay forgotten on the grass.

"Disgusting," Ryouta sneered. "Stop that crying, piggy! Do you have any idea how ugly you look?"

"Ah, Rin-chan..." one of the girls protested mildly, "don't you think you're going a teensy bit too far...?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Aki-chan," Ryouta said dismissively. "Isn't this fun?"

"Gee... Rin-chan's never made the piggy cry before..." another girl trailed off mid-sentence.

_They're having second thoughts,_ Sumire quickly realized.  _Come on...! Act on those thoughts! Tell Ryouta how you really feel!_ In all honesty, she couldn't blame them, really. If she were in the same position as then, she'd be terrified of being possibly victimized by Ryouta. She would  _never_ even speak up. That was just the kind of person she was; she wasn't proud of it but it was just how her nature worked.

"Rin-chan, that's enough," Susumu pleaded, looking nervous. She tried to regain her composure, pushing up her crimson glasses. "You've made your point."

_Well, well. Maybe there's hope for them after all._

"Yeah... come on, Rin-chan... if she keeps crying like this, she's not going to perform well."

"Oh, whatever," Ryouta huffed. "Man, you guys are such a bunch of killjoys. Intermission's nearly over so we should probably be heading back. Oi, piggy!"

Mizushima kept on blubbering.

"Go to the bathroom and clean yourself up," Ryouta ordered harshly. "Don't come back until you've made yourself presentable. I don't want your even uglier than normal face to steal the spotlight from  _me_."

"I thought we were all in this together," Aki murmured. "We're all in the spotlight together..."

But Ryouta didn't hear, and, instead, started marching her band mates back to their original seating.

"Um, excuse me. How long are you going to keep clinging on to my skirt?"

Sumire nearly jumped ten feet into the air. The girls she had been trying to blend in with had finally noticed her. Instantly, Sumire flushed and released the girl in question's skirt.  _I didn't even realize..._

"S-sorry," she stammered, bowing repeatedly to them. "Uhh, gotta go!"

"... Okay?"

* * *

"Charlene Cho?" Oikawa's question was practically spoken and heard in the name itself.

"Yes," Naoko said, sighing. "Oikawa... she just talked to me. I didn't get an autograph or anything if you were curious."

"What did she want from you?" asked Iwaizumi, curious. "It's not everyday that you get to talk with a star."

"Eh..." Naoko looked over to the judge's panel, where A.R.I.A was joking with a sullen Souma. No doubt that the group category would begin at any moment. "I'll tell you guys later if you still want to know. I should be getting back to my seat."

"Unfair," Oikawa complained. "Keeping us in the suspense like that."

"She said good things to you, right?" Tadashi piped up shyly.

Naoko's gaze instantly softened as she beheld her brother. "Don't worry. She didn't say anything bad or incriminating, Tadashi-nii." She gave him a brief hug. "Wish us luck, okay?"

Tadashi nodded, smiling. "I'll be rooting for you, Naachan."

"Break a leg," Oikawa added, grinning sneakily. "Not literally, though."

"Gee, thanks."

"Leave it up to Shittykawa to ruin the mood."

"Hey! What do you mean by that, Iwa-chan?"

In just a few moments, everyone was back in their seats, including Sumire, who Naoko had left behind seeing that she seemed to be making friends with some other contestants.

"Who are they?" Naoko asked as soon as Sumire sat down.

"Eh? Who's who?"

"... Never mind."

"Alright, everybody!" A.R.I.A spoke into her headset, grinning broadly, her gloved hands on her hips. "Thank you all for waiting! Hope you made use of the intermission for all and any bathroom breaks. For those who have come to the Standoff before, you should know that the group performances are the  _real_ highlights of the competition. Without further ado, let's invite act number one to the stage!"

The crowd cheered and whooped, some flashing their phones and event throwing confetti and silly string into the air.

Clearly, act number one, a duo led by a black-haired male with a golden piercing on his left ear, was a crowd favorite. His partner—a male with glasses and orange hair—was flashing the audience a victory sign that was oddly reminiscent of Oikawa's behavior when in front of the cameras. While he was all smiles, the male with the piercing seemed bored and almost irritated by the amount of attention they were receiving. Both of them were sitting in front of separate pianos that were set close to one another. It was placed so that the boys were opposite each other, the only thing keeping them apart being the two grand pianos.

"Welcome back, boys," Souma said smoothly, fixing his flinty eyes onto the pair. "It's nice to see you again... hopefully you'll actually add some  _class_ to this competition. I expect that I will not be disappointed."

"Why don't you introduce yourselves to the crowd?" Cho suggested, giving them a small wave. "You know, for the newcomers like me? Judging from the respect Souma is giving you, you must be veterans!"

Souma's cheeks reddened just a bit. "Cho,  _please_..."

"Oh, lighten up, you old grump."

The audience, having not forgotten Souma's unfair attempt at disqualifying Leiko, laughed like a pack of hyenas.

"Ahem." Souma glared frostily at Cho, who was unfazed. "Go ahead, boys. Tell the people why you two are known as the Princes of Piano."

"... I'd rather not," the black-haired one said coldly. "Our reputation has nothing to do with our skill. It is but a  _title_ which does not speak for us, Souma-san." He cleared his throat. "For the sake of it... my name is Takahiro Yuu."

"And I'm Takahiro Haruto," the orange-haired boy added, smiling at the crowd. "Nice to meet everyone!"

Instantly, almost all the ladies in the audience swooned.

"He's... perfect!" Katsumi gushed.

"He does have appeal," Ayame grudgingly admitted, her face growing red. "I wonder... if he would be... boyfriend material?"

"Yuu is soo mysterious though," Midori said, tapping her chin with one digit. "Isn't that hot?"

Toshio sweatdropped. "Seriously, guys?! You're doing this  _now_?! Yeesh..."

"I don't see what's so good about them," Kageyama voiced, frowning. "They're just... people."

"Tsk," Oikawa scoffed. "You're so dense, Tobio-chan. Even  _I_ can see their appeal. They're practically oozing it. You'd have to be blind or emotionally retarded not to notice."

Kageyama fixed Oikawa with a stare. "Oikawa-senpai... are you gay?"

Next to Oikawa, Iwaizumi choked on his drink, his face reddening as he guffawed. "Pfft!"

"Hah?!" A vein popped on the side of Oikawa's head. "No, I am not gay, you idiot!"

Kageyama looked disbelieving.

"Hey, Kageyama," Hinata said, catching the black-haired setter's attention. "Don't you think they're kinda like us?"

"Hah? Who?"

"The Princes of Piano!" Hinata exclaimed, pointing up at them. "Yuu is so serious and scary like you. He's all  _nwehhh,_ " Hinata flattened his hair and scowled to match Takahiro Yuu, "and Haruto is all  _bwaah_ like me!"

"What do you mean scary, dumbass?!"

At Souma's command, their performance began.

As if he were under the possession of some piano spirit, Yuu began to play, his fingers all over the place. No, really, his hands were  _everywhere._ He moved up and down the piano, seemingly pressing every single black and white key along the way. In fact, his right hand was basically rendered exclusive  _only_ to the black keys.

He played a sort of happy-go-lucky and vivid piece with great polish and zeal. The song was the whole bloody package: graceful, witty, naughty, and roguish. Guided by Yuu's gifted hands, the keys whispered, giggled, and flattered the ears that had the utter delight of hearing the charm of the piano.

"Étude Opus 10, Number 5," Sumire said suddenly, causing Naoko to turn to her. "Chopin. But... it's not the same. They've tweaked it. Made it even better. And they're not even using sheet music!"

The song ended with an exclusive grandeur. Yuu, ignoring the applause, stared intensely at Haruto, whose face was a blank slate.

"Well, brother," Yuu said. "Think you can outdo me?"

"Just watch me."

Without warning, Haruto's hands glided along the keys, from the highest octaves to the lowest and back up again. And then he repeated Yuu's playing, making it sound just as grand and jovial as Yuu had made it.

"He's doing it by ear," Sumire gasped, her pupils dilating. "Just how good is he?!"

Behind them, even Ryouta was looking mildly terrified at the sheer amount of skill that the Princes of Piano were exhibiting.

Haruto ended the song with just as much zeal as Yuu did.

"Not bad," Yuu said mildly, smirking ever so slightly, challenge sparking in his eyes. "You didn't miss a single key, little brother. Looks like I need to try a little harder."

"They're not working together," Oikawa observed, nodding in understanding. "That's part of their appeal. That's why people like them so much. Other than personality..." The brunet's eyes flashed. "We're essentially witnessing a  _piano duel_ here, where one is trying to outdo the other. In this case, Haruto is acting like the challenger while Yuu is the defending champion. How many people have actually witnessed a live piano battle before? No wonder they're so popular."

With all harmony in the left hand, Yuu started a new song. Unlike the charming piece the brothers had played before, this one was a little more casual. Besides the general pace being slower, it had a more 'walking in the park' feel to it.

"Chopin Waltz?" Haruto burst in while Yuu played. To the latter's credit, he didn't even look up from his piano. "Too easy. You're practically asking me to whoop your ass."

Despite the interruption, Yuu kept going. Then he paused. And then a lilting tune began to purr from the piano.

Haruto smirked. "Heh. Should have known it wasn't going to be that easy."

Now, Yuu was playing at a far more faster pace than he had been before.

"Another variation," Sumire identified. "These guys... are piano prodigies."

This quicker melody was far more energizing and, as such, the audience began to clap along, though it was terribly off beat with the music. Even Haruto grudgingly began to clap.

Then, just as quickly as he had began, Yuu was done, folding his hands in his lap when he finished.

"Even Chopin didn't know this part," Sumire stated, her hands growing clammy. "His improvisation is brilliant!"  _Though it sounds an awful lot like_ _Opus 64, Number 2, in G-flat minor... I could be wrong..._

"Calm down," Naoko said gruffly, noticing that she was starting to fidget nervously. "Don't let it affect your performance."

"I'm going to skip all the boring bits!" Haruto declared to Yuu, who raised his eyebrow. "Watch and learn."

"I look forward to it."

Haruto placed his hands on the piano and, true to his words, he skipped the introduction and went straight to the good bits—playing it even faster than Yuu had done before. His fingers dashed along the keyboard, working hard to keep up with his own pace. He went high. Then he went low. Then high again. And back to the middle section of the piano before ending with a key in one of the higher octaves.

With that, Haruto folded his arms and smugly regarded Yuu, who blinked back impassively.

"I see," Yuu said gravely. "Well then... It's going to be a really good show today, isn't it?"

"Keep up, Yuu!" some overzealous fangirls shrieked. "Keep up Yuu, keep up Haruto!"

Yuu cracked his fingers.

And began to play his final piece.

"Oh. My. God," Sumire breathed in amazement.

Oikawa raised his eyebrows at Yuu, who was concentrating solely on the piano. "My, my..."

Unlike the first two pieces, this melody was a true thunderstorm—dark, ominous and an absolutely stunning phenomenon.

Kageyama could practically hear the drumming of thunder and the crack of lightning as Yuu devoted himself into the music, his earring swaying back and forth as he worked his magic.

And judging by the look on Hinata's face, the orange-haired boy was having similar thoughts.

"Uwaah... this sounds like it should be Bluecastle's theme song?"

"Oho?" Oikawa leaned forward between Kageyama and Hinata. "Do elaborate, shrimpy-chan. Is it because you think we're terrifying?" he asked with a wink.

"Stop that," Iwaizumi said half-heartedly. For the most part, he was fixated on Yuu's enchanting playing but a part of him remained aware to Oikawa's actions.

Hinata balked. "N-no! We're going to crush you in the Spring Tournament!"

"Bring it on, shrimpy-chan."

Thunder, dark clouds and lightning. A waltz for the Gods. And Yuu... perfected this godly waltz.

Naoko wasn't even sure if Haruto could match Yuu's insane skill when it came to this piano solo.

But Haruto wasn't cowed at all. In fact, he seemed to relish in the challenge.

As Yuu came to a stop, it was time for Haruto to shine.

Not a single remark was tossed between the brothers and Haruto geared up for his final performance, his fingers twitching in anticipation as he hovered his hands over the keyboard.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even the offbeat clapping had come to a startling halt as the audience were brought to the edge of their seats.

Then Haruto placed his left hand on his lap.

And played.

"No way!" cried Sumire, wide-eyed with shock.

"What?!" Ryouta shrieked, standing up and nearly knocking her own violin over. "How is that even possible?!"

"One hand?" Iwaizumi stared intently at Haruto as he used only his right hand to replicate the thunderous piece that Yuu had performed just moments ago.

"Genius," Oikawa stated with just a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Seriously, what is up with these geniuses showing up left and right?" He huffed and crossed his arms. "How very, very irritating..."

Despite all the shocked comments, Haruto continued to do his thing, proving his right to being one of the Piano Princes.

Sumire laughed bitterly. "No way are we going to win..."

Naoko fixed her with a stern glare. "Get out of that mindset immediately, Sumire-chan."

"Sorry. But they're... so good."

"So what? We're good too, you know. Don't let them worry you... or that will be your downfall."

Sumire nodded silently, trying her best to take Naoko's words to heart.

Haruto came smashing down on the keys, ending the song. Then he turned in his chair and cheesed at the crowd, displaying a victory sign.

The audience roared in delight, standing up and clapping with all their might. Even Oikawa, with his slight grudge against prodigies, had to admit that a Haruto and Yuu's performance deserved a hearty round of applause.

"Thank you!" Haruto beamed, looking a little sheepish. "Thank you so much!"

The two brothers got out of their chairs and stood side by side, bowing to the judges and the audience simultaneously.

"Thank you!" they chorused in unison.

"My, my, my," A.R.I.A crooned as the applause died down. "Just as talented as ever, boys. It was a pleasure watching you give us such a riveting performance. It's so hard to choose a winner! Thank goodness the Standoff isn't about choosing one group member over the other or I'd have a cardiac arrest!"

"Haruto totally won that," Hinata said matter-of-factly. "I mean, he used one hand! One hand for that awesome song."

"Thank you for not disappointing me," said Souma, a small smile on his face. "Unlike some others... you two truly are the Princes of Piano."

"Aw, shucks," said Haruto, lapping up all the attention with a bashful grin. "We're flattered, Souma, we really are!"

Yuu gave the judge a curt but respectful nod.

After accepting one last round of applause, the boys disappeared behind the curtains, out of sight but certainly not out of mind as the next couple of contestants came to realize with no small amount of dismay.

The Piano Princes had them all beat.

"Hey," one of the stage directors hissed, motioning to the Shiratorizawa orchestra and Naoko and Sumire as well as a few other group artists. "You guys are on next. Follow me to the back so you can prepare yourselves."

"Shit," Ryouta swore as they all got up and were ushered backstage. "Where the hell has Tsubaka gone?"

"Who knows?" The words were out of Sumire's mouth before she even knew it. "Maybe someone chased her away."

"What the?" Ryouta saw red. "How dare you! What have you done to our flutist? Trying to sabotage us?"

"Oh, please," Sumire drawled, though she was inwardly terrified of Ryouta. She was surprised that she managed to keep her voice even. "I didn't do anything. I didn't need to sabotage anything, Ryouta-san. You've gone and done it yourself."  _Okay, stop talking now! Otherwise, she'll eat me for breakfast..._

She had never stood up to a bully before.

But the approving look on Naoko's face was so worth it.

Ryouta spluttered with rage and marched over to the nearest stage director to demand him let her go and find the missing flutist.

"Hey, umm..."

Naoko and Sumire turned around to see a hesitant Susumu approaching them.

"Thanks for that," Susumu murmured. "She can go a little too far sometimes... but just a little!" she added hastily. "I'm not talking trash about her anything—she's my best friend."

"Uh huh," Naoko said flatly. "If that's all you had to say, please leave us."

"Bwuh...?!"

"I can't stand people like you."

Had she seen? Sumire couldn't help but wonder. Had she seen how Susumu had acted during the confrontation between Ryouta and Mizushima? Had Naoko been watching the entire time?

Sumire swallowed. Her sister seriously needed to stop being so unpredictable.

It was what made her so terrifying.

* * *

_**A/N:** _ _**We don't know what Cho has in store for Naoko yet. Only Naoko (and me I guess lmao) knows that. It'll be revealed in due time. It's part of a larger plot point in the future.** _

_**And before I forget, let me say a few things.** _

_**The Princes of Piano character designs are based off Kosuke and Yeong-gi from the webcomic I Love Yoo, which you should all check out. In fact, this story was heavily inspired by I Love Yoo.** _

**_Also, the piano duel scene is basically the same as the piano battle in the Taiwanese movie Secret, including all the music._ **

**_A lot of the OCs in my story are based off characters from the indie game Yandere Simulator, which is about a girl killing all her love rivals to win Senpai's affections._ **

**_For example, Ayame is based off Kokona Haruka and Midori is based off Midori Gurin._ **

**_Toshio and Shinji are exceptions. Toshio is based off Ryuuji from Toradora! and Shinji is based off Paul from the Pokemon anime and Trunks from the Dragon Ball series (albeit this is only design-wise)._ **

**_Leiko is just Leiko. She's pretty much almost completely original._ **

**_And Charlene Cho? She's based off a friend who sits next to me in my writing class at school. Fun fact: the 'real' Charlene actually sung a K-pop song (BTS, Spring Day), at my school's international day._ **

 


	21. Her Majesty's Tumble

_What the devil's a king but a man, or a queen but a woman?_

—  _Maxwell Anderson_

* * *

Ryouta Rin stalked across the grass and to the nearest bathroom block, where she was almost certain that Mizushima was hiding.

"Oi!" she shouted into the girl's restroom. "Tsubaka, you in there?!"

A sniffle.

Ryouta didn't really have time for this bullshit. She stormed right into the ladies' bathroom and glared at the only closed stall. "Get out here right now! We're next and we need you with us, dumbass!"

"Stop it!" Mizushima shouted from her stall, her voice thick with mucus and whatnot. "Stop insulting me! Go away!"

"Ugh!" Ryouta snarled under her breath. "Listen, Tsubaka—er, Tsubaki—I'm sorry, okay? Now will you come out now?"

"... No."

"Hah?! Why not?!"

"Because you don't mean it!"

Mizushima was getting far too insufferable and mouthy for Ryouta's taste. But even the stubborn Concertmaster knew that she wouldn't be successful if she were to continue aggravating the piggy.

Perhaps it was time to take a gentler approach. She cringed and said, "Come out... when you're ready."

Then she left Mizushima by herself, hoping that she wasn't too suspiciously out of character. Otherwise, Mizushima would figure out that Ryouta was merely toying with her again to benefit herself.

Well, she wouldn't be wrong, Ryouta supposed. She was well aware of her own condescending, bitchy attitude. It was part of her character and if people didn't like that part of her, too bad.

Ryouta huffed as she marched backstage to a fretting Susumu, flipping her orange hair over her shoulder.

"I don't know if she's coming or not," Ryouta admitted, the horrified looks of her hand mates ticking her off. "But the show must go on; with or without her! I will  _not_ let some irrelevant piggy get in the way of my stardom."

"Don't you mean  _our_ stardom?" Akiko—Aki—drawled.

Ryouta chose not to hear Akiko at that moment.

"Did you find her?" Naoko asked, her gaze flicking toward a fuming Ryouta.

"What's it to you?" Ryouta snapped, gnashing her teeth. "Come to rub it in my face or something?!"

"Of course not. It's a shame that you think everyone is just like you."

"You... You dare?!" Ryouta raised her hand, ready to slap the living daylights out of this  _insolent bitch._

"Oh, girls!" An overweight stage manager rushed toward them and Ryouta immediately put her hand down, flushing and casting Naoko a dark look. She would get what was coming to her later. "Are you Shiratorizawa Academy's orchestra? Because you're on immediately after this group's performance."

Ryouta bit her lip. "Er—yes. How much time do I have to prepare?"

"Eh? About five minutes give or take." He gave them a thumbs up and waddled away. "Good luck, girls!"

As Ryouta plastered on a falsely cheerful grin and waved the director off, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Naoko was giving her a grim look.

"What?!" she snapped. "Got something to say to me?"

"Do you have something to say to  _me_?" Her eyes darkened. "If not,  _get lost._ "

A shiver ran down Ryouta's spine as she took in the sheer killing intent in Naoko's gaze.  _Oh boy... I can't lose face now._ She turned her nose up at Naoko. "Wh-whatever!"

A four-man band came rushing through the curtains, looking put out. Ryouta flashed them a nasty grin and they glanced away, looking even more disappointed than ever. From what Ryouta had heard, their performance was average at best.

_Right now, my only competition is those damn Piano Princes. They didn't come last year... so why this year?! Do they alternate years?!_ She sneaked a glance at Naoko and her younger sister.  _... I don't know who the hell they are, but I shouldn't worry about them. Just focus on doing our best so we can win._

But those damn Piano Princes...

_Grr... Nothing is going my way today._

"Shiratorizawa, you're up."

The girls all exchanged worried glances as they observed Ryouta shake with frustration. Some kind of unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them and they all nodded decisively.

Ryouta began her queenly march through the curtains before realizing that none of the girls had moved. She raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well?" she prompted impatiently, her voice going a tad squeakier from nerves. "Come on! Don't tell me you've all suddenly got cold feet? We practiced all year long for this."

To the side, Naoko observed them quietly, her eyes following their every move. Her sister didn't seem to be so invested in their actions and instead looked like she was trying to calm herself down.

Susumu tried to step forward but Aki pulled her back, her lips pursed. Susumu ducked her head, her glasses nearly slipping off her nose.

_Wha... What?_

"We're not following you anymore."

_What._

_WHAT?!_

"Excuse me?" Ryouta hissed, clutching her violin case tightly. "Just  _what_ the hell are you talking about?"

"Without Tsubasa, our whole performance is going to flop," Aki reasoned, the others nodding in agreement. "If we go out there now, we'll only embarrass ourselves. So we're not following you anymore. Not when you're going to lead us to our own defeat and humiliation."

"You're delusional!" Ryouta screamed, dropping her violin case. "We don't need Tsubaka! We can still win without her! Who cares about that fatso?! You have  _me_ on your side! I am your  _leader!_ "

"Shiratorizawa Academy, please come up to the stage," Souma said from outside, sounding ticked off.

"We don't care," Aki said simply. "You have done nothing but berate and scold us for three years. It's time for a change around here." She glanced toward Naoko. "Thank you. I don't think we would have realized if you hadn't gave that little speech in front of Souma..." She grinned, a drop of sweat crawling down her gaze. "So thanks."

"This is the  _final_ call for Shiratorizawa Academy. If you don't come out now you  _will_ be disqualified."

Naoko kept staring at the scene unfolding.

Ryouta picked up her violin case.

"Fine." Her voice wavered. "I don't need any of you. Screw you all! Fuck all of you!" Panting heavily, she stormed outside, where the world was waiting. The sun hit her eyes painfully and she hissed, her optics having gotten accustomed to the dark backstage.  _Shitshitshitshit_ —

"About time," drawled Souma, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Where are the rest of you?"

"... I'm going to be performing alone. They're not going to come."

"I beg your pardon? What, have they all suddenly gotten sick or something?"

"... No... they chose to withdraw. So it's just me."

A.R.I.A leaned forward, her cat-like eyes glinting. "You're Ryouta Rin, aren't you?"

_Finally. Somebody that knows my name._ It was odd though. The usual satisfaction that came with her fame was lacking.

Ryouta stared at the wooden floor of the stage. "Y-yes..."

"Hmm... a Concertmaster then. How strange that your friends chose to abandon you during such an important time."

_Abandon._ She flinched. "Th-they are not my friends!"

"So you fully admit to having not formed the necessary bonds in order to keep your orchestra together?"

Her head snapped upward. "What."

"What she means," Cho cut in, "or rather,  _implies,_ is that you have no real sentimental connections to your band mates. How could you ever expect to keep being a leader when it is clear that they do not have respect for you?"

_Wh... What?_

"Because... I am a queen! I-I'm the youngest ever to have my face in all the music magazines as of late! How could they not have respect for me?" she demanded desperately. "I'm the one who shaped them into what they are! Without me, they are nothing!"

Souma frowned. "It's that sort of thinking that I really hate. You've caught some of that fame disease. Tell me, little girl...

"What is a queen with no subjects?"

"I... I don't quite understand what you mean, sir." Her head was spinning from all the light.  _Urgh..._

"It's as simple as it sounds. Since you quite obviously do not know the answer, I shall provide you with it." His slick-backed hair was all Ryouta could focus on at the moment. "The answer is, Ryouta Rin, that you are  _nothing_."

_Nothing...?_

"A queen whose subjects refuse her reign is  _nothing._ " She was only reading his lips at this point. "A disgrace."

_Why..._

The people that she had once considered her friends entered her mind, their smiling faces plaguing her vision.

_... is it that..._

The girl with the choppy brown bangs rapped on stage—Park Leiko, was it?

_Everything I've worked so hard for..._

Naoko's cold, unflinching gaze bore into her soul.

_... has disappeared in one afternoon?_

The world swayed.

And tipped sideways.

* * *

"Shit, she fainted," Oikawa exclaimed, half-getting out of his seat as medical staff went to attend to her. "Geeh... this day has been so full of drama, don't you think so, Iwa-chan?"

"Yeah... though I can't say I'm disappointed. I hate her attitude. It reminds me of—"

"Ushiwaka?"

"... Yeah."

At that name, Hinata and Kageyama straightened just a bit in their seats, obviously having eavesdropped on their conversation.

"We have everything under control," Cho said, her voice soothing and calm. "Don't worry, folks, we won't let this get in the way of things. Considering the Shiratorizawa Academy has withdrawed, we'll now move on to the next act. The last act, actually." She read off her paper, her lips quirking. "Act... number seven."

Behind the curtains, Sumire's breath hitched.

_Shit._

She looked down at her pass, which bore the number '7'.

_I am not ready for this._

A hand touched her shoulder.

Naoko smiled at her softly. "Hey. Don't be scared. There's nothing to be scared of. Honest." As an afterthought, she added, "Dumbass."

Her stomach settled.

She grinned. "Dumbass yourself."

If she won, it meant ramen from Kageyama. It meant less money being spent on lunches and dinners, even if it was only a slight amount. And, judging from the amount of effort Kageyama had put in trying to persuade her into entering, she was sure that he'd be pretty damn pissed if she entered just to get cold feet at the last minute.

Sumire flinched as Naoko took her hand. It was soft and warm. Her legs operated on autopilot as Naoko led her out onto the stage, in front of what seemed like the entire world. She narrowed her eyes at the sun shone brightly above them.

When her eyes finally adjusted, it was absolutely surreal.

Hundreds—no,  _thousands_ —of people were before her, most of them having their phones out and filming the sisters' appearance. The judges—save for Souma—were smiling encouragingly at the pair, especially Charlene Cho, who bore her pearly white teeth as she grinned.

At one of the front rows, her friends—her  _friends_ —were waving to her. Hinata, the multi-colored hair club, and Kageyama of all people had stood up and was cheering her on with all of his heart. Behind them, Tadashi, Oikawa and Iwaizumi were doing the same.

Naoko released her hand but she hardly felt her arm fall to her side.

_Is this... what it feels like... when..._

She glanced at Naoko. Even she had some sort of excited gleam in her irises.

_... You're the centre of attention?_

A warm feeling bloomed in Sumire's heart and her knees nearly buckled because of it.

_It feels... nice._

"Well, well, well."

Her entire fantasy came crashing down as Souma's cold voice rang through the air.

"Look what the cat dragged in. So you two are our last contestants for the day." Souma sneered at them. "I certainly hope you're bringing something valuable to this competition. It'd be  _awfully_ disappointing if you didn't... seeing as much you talked about hard work and dedication."

"In order for you to judge us, you'd have to let us start first," Naoko stated pointedly.

Souma's eye twitched. "Riiight..."

_Yeesh, this guy is immature. Are you sure he's a grown man?!_

"So, girls," A.R.I.A said, sweatdropping. "What are your names? You're both violinists, correct?"

"A-ah, yes," Sumire suddenly burst out, blushing. "We are." She looked to Naoko for help but her big sister was busy taking their violins out of their cases. "We... um... I'm Makoshima Sumire."

"Oh dear," Oikawa sighed. "She's getting stage fright."

"Eh? Why?" Hinata wondered. "What's so scary about that?" Then he thought of the massive crowds at the Interhigh and instantly balked. "Never mind. I remember."

"Is there any way we can snap her out of it...?" Iwaizumi mused to himself, his eyes flicking to Kageyama—who was observing tensely—a few times.

"I'm Makoshima Naoko. We'll be performing a Studio Ghibli medley for you today."

"Studio Ghibli... I see. Excellent choice. I look forward to hearing your takes on Joe Hisaishi's classics," said A.R.I.A, looking pleased.

"Thank you," Naoko said monotonously, propping her violin up in the proper position, Sumire following suit (albeit a bit more clumsily than she usually did).

Cho gave them a signal to begin—

And Sumire dropped her bow on the floor.

_Oh no._

Hastily, she picked it back up, apologizing loudly.

_Fuck, I can't do this._

_I can't._

_Oh my lord, what was I thinking_ —

Naoko was giving her a worried look now.

Souma was grinning maliciously.

And Sumire? Her knees were knocking together in fright.

_Get a hold of yourself! I dragged nee-chan into this because of that electric violin! I can't chicken out now!_

"Oi, dumbass!"

"Hah?!"

All heads turned to the one black-haired kid who had stood up with a glare on his face and his hands in his pockets.

Sumire blinked.  _Kageyama?_

"Are you just going to stand there like a loser?" he goaded, earning incredulous gasps. His gaze darkened. "Have you forgotten just why you're here?"

"Excuse me!" said an affronted Cho, but Souma stopped her with one hand, staring intensely at the exchange between a performer and a member of the audience.

"I-I..." Sumire faltered.

Naoko glowered at Kageyama. "Hey. That's enough."

The raven-haired setter stiffened just a tad at her glare but kept going. "Don't be so pathetic. Get a grip, you twig."

Sumire snapped. "Twig?! That's it..." She straightened and held her violin in correct form. "You'll be eating your words when I render you broke from all that ramen I'm going to be ordering, dumbass!"

Naoko breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Can we hurry it up?" Souma suggested, looking faintly amused.

"Certainly," Naoko said agreeably, glancing to Sumire. "Ready?"

"... Yeah."

And the music began.

* * *

Haruto let out a low whistle as the raven-haired boy sat back down in his seat after successfully taunting the nerves out of the previously stuttering Makoshima Sumire. He took a sip of his water before turning to his brother.

"Hey, Yuu, did you see that?"

"Mm. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Haruto sweatdropped and fixed his glasses. "Well... yeah. He must really care about her."

"That's wonderful," Yuu said dryly. "Some high school brats are in love. Great. I'm so happy for them, really."

"Tsk, don't be like that, Yuu. We were young once too, you know."

Yuu snorted softly. "That's funny, coming from you. Last time I checked, you were still eighteen and in your third year."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm very mature for my age."

Yuu fixed him with a deadpan.

And the music began.

"Wow," Haruto said, blinking in surprise. "Childhood memories... flooding back... blinding rainbows..."

"Don't be so melodramatic." Yuu had his gazed fixed on the shorter girl. "... She's like us."

"Eh?"

"Makoshima Sumire. Look at the way she plays. She has natural talent—one that has been honed to near perfection."

"Gee whiz, and you call  _me_  melodramatic. Hypocrite much, bro?" His glasses flashed in the sunlight. "Though I kinda see what you mean. She moves like... water. What do you think of the other one? Naoko, was it?"

Yuu nodded slowly, his eyes sharp. "Yes... she's not the same. She doesn't have that same penchant for music that the younger one does. But..." He grimaced. "She's no pushover. Anyone could see that."

"She's leading Sumire," Haruto observed. "Out of the two, she's got a more dominant personality. She might not be any genius, but she's the more dangerous one."

"Indeed. Haruto."

"Hm?"

"I think we might have found our real competition."

* * *

The performance ended low and soft and Naoko released the breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding.

Weeks and weeks of long, hard practice and late nights had led up to this point.

And now, like all things, it was over.

_... How anticlimactic._

"Bravo, bravo!" Cho praised, beaming. "That was wonderful! It brought back so many memories for me."

"Hn. You weren't as bad as I thought you'd be," Souma admitted grudgingly. "It's abundantly clear that you two and the Princes of Piano are going to be our picks."

"But who, is the question," the portly judge said, his moustache twitching. "Thank you girls. Please return to your seats. We'll be making our decisions now."

Naoko and Sumire bowed. "Thank you."

"There'll be another intermission as we decide the winners of the solo and group category," A.R.I.A announced. "Please tune back in in ten minutes from now!"

As soon as A.R.I.A said those words, almost everybody began to get up and move around again. Naoko and Sumire, who had made a straight beeline for their seats in the VIP section before, changed direction to join their friends in the audience.

Naturally, the sisters gravitated toward their two different cliques.

"Hey," Naoko said tiredly, standing between Iwaizumi and Oikawa, Tadashi standing off a bit to the side. "I hope we didn't bore you too much."

"Of course not," Oikawa reassured. "You two did good up there, you know." His eyes lit up in contemplative amusement. "But if you'd smiled... you would have looked better."

"Better? How so?"

He shrugged, though the sly smile on his face gave her the impression that he knew exactly what he was talking about. "Dunno. Friendlier? Prettier?"

"What happened to deranged hyena?"

"Deranged hyena?" Iwaizumi muttered, sweatdropping and looking to Tadashi for answers. But the blond boy was as confused as the ace.

"That's only when you laugh," Oikawa stated, grinning. "Don't put words in my mouth, oyster-chan."

"I'll put my fist in your mouth if you don't quit yapping, you dumb chihuahua."

Iwaizumi snorted. "Please do. Maybe then I'd finally have a day of peace." He paused. "Bonus points if you knock out all of his teeth."

"Challenge accepted," Naoko agreed, nodding solemnly and raising her arm.

"Ack! Noo!" He pushed her arm away and she let him, rolling her eyes in amusement. "Such a bully, Mako-chan." His eyes glinted. "You remind me of someone I used to know."

"Oh, yeah? And who would that be?"

Oikawa opened his mouth to reply but Souma's voice interrupted him, ringing through the air as he announced that the winners would be decided for each category very soon.

Oikawa patted Naoko's shoulder. "Go and take that prize. And treat me to lunch."

"In your dreams. Hey, Iwaizumi, if we win, I'll treat you to lunch."

Iwaizumi instantly caught on. "Thanks."

"Hah?!" Oikawa whined. "Okay, if you're going to be like this, at least try to be more subtle."

"I'd invite you too, but you turned your nose up at our club," Naoko said, giving him a flat look.

"Club?"

"The Lonely Hearts Club," Iwaizumi and Naoko said in perfect unison.

"... Wow, screw both of you." He gave them mock looks of exasperation and lifted his arms up in surrender. "I'm doneee. You're my only friend now, Dashi-chan. You have now replaced Iwa-chan."

"Ehh?!" cried Tadashi, flushing.

"Thank god," Iwaizumi said loudly. "Good luck. He'll come crying to you after every breakup and you'll have to scrub snot out of your clothes."

"Iwa-chan! I do not! I'm a beautiful crier!"

"Have you considered a career in stand-up comedy, Shittykawa?"

Naoko patted Iwaizumi's back sympathetically. "I'd like to stick around some more, but I have to get going now. Come on, Sumire-chan."

Sumire, who had been chatting animatedly with Kageyama and Hinata, nodded and began to follow her.

"Wait!"

It seemed like the drama club had finally noticed them.

"You have to tell us all about this later," Ayame said, the others nodding. "Until then, good luck!"

"... Thank you."

They hadn't even made it back to their seats when directors ushered them backstage once again. Souma himself had stated explicitly that the real decisions would be made between Naoko and Sumire and the Takahiro brothers. Which meant that they would likely be standing on stage with the piano prodigies as the judges named the winners.

"Nee-chan, it's her," Sumire murmured.

Not too far away from them, Leiko leaned against a stack of black boxes, looking worse for wear.

Naoko and Sumire stopped in front of the bespectacled girl, who shot them a wary look.

"What?" Her voice was hoarse.

"Nothing. I just hope you're okay now," Naoko said simply.

"... Whatever."

"Hey, Makoshima!"

Both of the girls turned and Takahiro Haruto sweatdropped. Yuu sighed in exasperation.

"So idiotic," he said. "Both of them are Makoshima. Be more specific."

"Takahiro-san," Naoko acknowledged with a shallow nod. Sumire stood aside and let her sister do the talking. This was certainly more her department. "What can I do for you?"

"Aw, come on, don't be like that," Haruto huffed. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Haruto, okay?"

"I hardly know you."

"Would you like to?" Haruto said with a suggestive wink. "I know how to please a woman."

Naoko titled her head to one side. "Then could you please leave me alone?"

Haruto blinked at her. "I'm impressed. Normally, women would be falling over themselves by now."

"Congratulations, then. Do you want a medal?"

Yuu grabbed Haruto by the collar, making him choke. "Shut up, you pompous jackass." He dipped his head to Naoko and a pale-looking Sumire. "Forgive my brother. He can be... quite mouthy at times."

"It's fine. But I recommend not using lame pick up lines if he wants to better his success rate."

Haruto blushed. "Well, this is awkward." He shook his head and pried Yuu's hand off his shirt collar. "Anyway, all I really wanted to do was talk to Sumire."

"M-me?" Sumire squeaked, balking even further. "What do you want?"

She was terrified of them because of their extensive musical talent, Naoko realized. Her deep respect for the two prodigies ran deeper than she had initially anticipated. Sumire looked to be downright terrified of them.

Haruto smiled at her. "Oh, nothing... I just wanted to say that you did good out there. We were both watching you the whole time."

"Oh, er... thank you..."

Subconsciously, Naoko shifted defensively in front of her sister.

But the Takahiro brothers were done.

"May the best team win," Yuu said solemnly as every contestant behind the curtains were called to the stage.

It was like redoing their entrance all over again, except this time most of the attention were on the Piano Princes.

They all fell into line, silently organising themselves. The Takahiro brothers stood on the outermost left, the Makoshima sisters sidling next to then. Beside Naoko, Leiko stood, looking defeated albeit she tried to keep her head high. And flanking Leiko were two soloists that Naoko had never bothered to learn the names of; a boy and a girl, the latter standing on the outermost right.

"We've narrowed it down to two competitors from the groups category and three from the solo category," Souma commentated. "Without further ado, let us announce the winner of the solo category."

Naoko didn't even realise her heart was racing until Souma said those fateful words. It was time to see if Leiko's rapping had paid off.

Souma's lips began to move.

"After conferring with my associates—"

In the crowd, Ayame, Midori and Katsumi were shooting Leiko hopeful looks. A woman with red hair that Naoko didn't recognize was giving Leiko a similar look. The strange woman wore a bandanna on her head decorated with a cute dog pattern.

"—we have decided that the winner of the solo category—"

Ayame, Midori and Katsumi had turned their nervous-excited looks onto each other. Even Toshio looked somewhat excited, as did Shinji, who had finally looked up from his phone.

The woman in the bandanna bit her lip.

Leiko closed her eyes, a muscle in her lower jaw twitching. As if she couldn't stand the hopeful light in their eyes. As if she couldn't consider the possibility of her actually winning—

"—is Kuro Mai."

_Ah._

 


	22. Winners and Losers

_Dear god, she's like Tobio-chan_ _in a wig._

—  _Tooru Oikawa_

* * *

"After conferring with my associates, we have decided that the winner of the solo category is Kuro Mai."

As soon as the words came out of Souma's mouth, the audience burst into rounds of applause. An apple-cheeked girl with silky, long black hair blushed and bowed hastily, embarrassed at the praise she was receiving.

Charlene Cho—who, due to the lack of an MC, had pretty much taken up the aforementioned role—stood up and trotted up to the stage in her simple but elegant high heels. On her way up to the stage, she took from a stage director a large white cheque for the prize—half a million yen. She handed the cheque to Kuro Mai, whose face turned even redder. The rising star shook the girl's hand and smiled, the audience continuing to scream as she did so.

As Cho left the stage, her high heels clicking on the wooden paneling, Mai fumbled with the large, wide cheque before finally regaining her bearings and holding it in front of her properly so that everyone could get a good look at it.

"Everyone give it up for Kuro Mai!" A.R.I.A cheered, even though the crowds were already going wild. There were even more people than there had been at the start of the competition if that were possible.

"T-thank you so much," Mai stammered, nearly dropping the cheque again.

Flashes were going off in the crowd—people's phone cameras. Eagerly snapping up pictures of the adorable winner of the solo category.

As the cameras continued to click, Leiko lifted up one arm and covered her eyes, the wide sleeve of her brown sweater baggy enough to cover the rest of her face along with her irises.

Naoko tried to sneak her a glance, but Leiko didn't budge her arm.

When the applause finally died down and the solo 'runner-ups' were escorted away, the Makoshima sisters and the Takahiro brothers were left standing.

Their gazes locked and electricity seemed to simply zap between them.

Meanwhile, Oikawa was bouncing his leg up and down in anticipation. Iwaizumi, seated beside him, had his chin propped up on one hand, his eyebrows knitted together. Hinata, his face red, looked as if he were going to explode from the suspense while Kageyama's grimace gave outsiders the impression that he was badly constipated.

Midori was reduced to speaking gibberish, upset at Leiko's loss but excited for the winner of the group category to be named. Katsumi was wailing dramatically, tears streaming down her face in an almost comical manner. Ayame was surprisingly stone-faced while Toshio was slumped in his chair, his head resting on Shinji's shoulder.

At the judge's table, a quiet but noticeable argument was currently ensuing. None of them were smiling and Souma looked like he wanted to punch something. The portly judge's swelled up cheeks were reminiscent of a bullfrog while the female judges seemed  _extremely_ exasperated. The fifth judge, a sharply dressed male, was currently pointing an accusing finger at the fat judge, who was animatedly defending himself.

"What's taking so long?" Oikawa complained, sick of the suspense they were currently being held in. "Didn't they make their decisions before this?"

"Dunno," Iwaizumi said boredly. "But I'm hungry as hell. I can't wait for it to be over..."

"Oh, oh!" Hinata spun around, grinning and holding up a plastic bag. "I bought some snacks from the snack stalls! Wanna share?"

"Hey, give me some too," demanded Kageyama, trying to open up the bag between Hinata's fingers. "I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Typical Tobio-chan," Oikawa said snidely, smirking at the vein that popped on Kageyama's temple as he reached for Hinata's snacks. "Doesn't know the meaning of gratitude of patience.  _Thank you very much, Shrimpy-chan_ ," he simpered.

Iwaizumi gave him a flat stare but it went unnoticed.

"Hey, hey," Hinata said, pulling his bag of snacks away from all the groping hands. "These are mine, okay? Rule number one, eat what I give you!"

When Hinata stopped there, Oikawa blinked. "Is there supposed to be a rule number two?"

"Er... I haven't gotten that far yet..."

"Dumbass," Kageyama said, rolling his eyes.

"Pfft!" Chuckling, Oikawa plunged his hand into the bag, expecting to grab some chip packets or candy. "Sorry, shrimpy-chan but I'm starved—" His fingers curled around something wet and sticky. "What."

Noticing his best friend's sudden discomfort, Iwaizumi took a look at what was inside and cringed. "Suddenly, I'm not so hungry."

"Ehh?! Iwa-chan?! What did I touch?!" Oikawa cried, nearly hysterical. "Tell me!"

"You guys okay?" Ayame turned around.

"Fine," Hinata said enthusiastically. His face fell. "But..." He too peered inside the bag to observe its contents. "The container for my tempura sauce opened... and so did my milk carton... so now it's just takoyaki in a milk-tempura sauce..."

Kageyama winced. "Never mind. Iwaizumi-senpai is right. I'm not hungry anymore."

"How does a milk carton open?" Katsumi, who had finally finished bawling, asked.

"I drank half of it before sealing it," Hinata explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. "Whoops."

Oikawa pulled his hand out of the bag and looked at the drippy liquid in disgust. "I'll be right back."

"Idiot," Kageyama scolded half-heartedly, not bothering to hide the grin on his face. "Who the hell tries to  _seal_ an already open milk carton?"

To the dismay of the audience, the judges called for yet  _another_ intermission, this one being impromptu. Cho looked especially stressed as the crowd started to boo and heckle, demanding the judges to announce the winners already.

"This is getting seriously old," Iwaizumi grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was cold, windy and he was famished.

"I saw a girl seal a chip packet with her hair straightener once!" Hinata insisted, pouting.

"Eh?! Where did you see that?! Who brings a hair straightener to school?" Kageyama exclaimed.

Hinata looked down at his feet. "... The internet."

It was time to stop listening, Iwaizumi decided, sighing through his nose.

While the intermission dragged on, Naoko, Sumire and the Takahiro brothers were invited backstage once again. Each were given a bottle of ice cold water as a token of apology. They all drank their liquids in silence, eyeing each other.

"Do either of you know what happened to that Ryouta Rin?" Haruto asked out of the blue.

Naoko shook her head. "No. Should I?"

"You guys aren't friends...?" Yuu said.

"No."

The Takahiro brothers hadn't been backstage when she and Ryouta had exchanged words.

"If you're interested in knowing what happened to her, I can tell you," a soft voice said.

Susumu Sora shuffled close to the, hugging herself awkwardly. Her glasses were half-fallen down her nose and the ahoge on her head was sticking up vertically, the previous curve it had lost.

"Susumu-san, right?" Naoko inquired.

"Yes." She gulped. "I am."

Haruto raised his orange eyebrows. "Are you friends with her, Makoshima-san?"

"No," was the blunt answer.

"What about you, Little Makoshima-san?"

Sumire didn't bother to address her new nickname. "No... we're not friends."

"Look," Naoko started. "I've never met any of the competitors before today, so please stop asking if we're friends with anyone of them."

"Apologies," Yuu offered politely. "My brother doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut." He raised an eyebrow. "But, I must admit, that I'm curious of Ryouta-san's fate as well. Would you elaborate for me, please, Susumu-san?"

The red-haired girl gulped and twirled her short hair around one finger. "W-well... after she fainted, they brought her backstage, where she woke up almost right away. Urm... I stayed with her for a bit before she told me to go away, so I did. The last time I saw her, she was running to the bathroom and crying."

_Pathetic,_ Naoko thought, disgusted just by imagining the salty tears running down her snotty face.

"You didn't go after her?" Sumire piped up surprisingly.

"Well, no... she didn't want me around."

"Unsurprising," Naoko said impassively. "If I were her, I wouldn't want you around either." Susumu's eyes flashed indignantly so she explained, "You abandoned her when she needed you most. From what I've seen, you were the closest thing she had to a friend. Now she's lost you as well."

"I-I... She was mean!" Susumu said lamely.

"I'm not saying that what you did was necessarily wrong. Your change of allegiance benefited the situation as a whole. But think about it objectively, Susumu-san." Her gaze hardened.  _I don't like Ryouta-san, but I dislike you even more._

Guilt was evident on the bespectacled girl's face and she scurried off, the shame becoming unbearable.

"Wow," Haruto said. "Harsh much?"

Naoko looked away from him, staring at the wall.

"Hello, finalists."

Cho strutted toward them, looking flawless as always.

"Cho-san," Yuu said, nodding to her.

"Everyone," Cho said, "us judges gotta speak to you for a second, okay?"

They all exchanged a glance, all thinking the same thing.

_What now?_

* * *

Oikawa did his best to ignore the sticky combination of milk and tempura sauce that was currently drying on his calloused hands. One word looped in his mind:  _Bathroombathroombathroom_ —

The bathroom came into view.

The setter sighed in relief and quickened his pace, not wanting the nasty substance to completely harden around his fingers. As he entered the men's bathroom, he took a quick peak at his hand.

_Well, it could have been worse._

But, boy, did it smell  _terrible_.

Not wanting to waste anymore precious seconds, Oikawa hurriedly squirted soap into his hands, rubbing the affected area thoroughly until his entire dirtied hand was obscured by a smattering blob of pink bubbles.

Satisfied, he watered down the soapy mess until his hand, while wet, was squeaky clean. He was about to activate the hand-dryer when a hiccup sounded. Oikawa paused, before drying his hands. Even as the hand-dryer roared with life, the sobs—which were coming from the girls' bathroom—grew noisier and noisier.

_Heartbreak?_ Oikawa mused, feeling a little bad for the girl that was evidently crying her eyes out.  _Maybe her boyfriend dumped her._

As he exited the bathroom, having finished drying his hands, he walked right into a lithe figure. Or, rather, a girl with orange hair tied up in a side ponytail collided straight into his chest.

"Ouch!" Wincing, she clutched her forehead. Quickly, realizing that she had walked into a  _person_ , she covered her face in shame and sidestepped him.

_Was that...?_ "Ryouta-chan?"

The girl nearly stumbled over her feet. She whipped her head around, allowing Oikawa to properly see just how much of a mess she looked to be right now. Her eyes were swollen bloodshot and her sunset tresses were an absolute mess. Her nose was covered with dry snot and her makeup was running down her face in inky streaks.

"Oh." Even her voice was nasally. "Sorry. If you want an autograph, you'll have to wait until another time—" She couldn't even finish her sentence before another sob wracked her shoulders. "P-please leave..."

"Why are you crying?" Oikawa asked casually, though he had a  _very_ good idea why.

"U-uh..." She regarded him warily. "You're not laughing at me...?"

_Eh?_ "Of course not. Why would I do that? You're obviously upset right now and I don't even know you that well," he pointed out.

"Oh," she mumbled, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand (which was already heavily smeared with remnants of her mascara). Before Oikawa could even prepare himself from the oncoming waterworks  _plus_ sob story, Ryouta was practically pouring her heart and soul out to him.

_I still got it,_ he thought triumphantly. Everywhere he went, girls fell to his feet and felt compelled to tell him intimate things. He stopped his train of thought to correct himself.  _Girls except Mako-chan._

"So now you know," Ryouta said, choking on her last sob. "I don't understand! Why would they leave me like that?! I have done nothing but try to make them the best! I'm supposed to be their leader—"

Oikawa had quite enough of her rambling. "Leader? You're not a leader, you're a dictator," he stated matter-of-factly. She ogled him. "Are you really that surprised? Surely, you can't be that oblivious to your band mates' feelings."

"D...Dictator?" She shook her head. "No, you're wrong! All I ever wanted was to try and make us the best—"

"No," Oikawa cut her off again. "All you've ever wanted was to try and make  _yourself_ the best."  _Dear god, she's like Tobio-chan in a wig._ _Is she really that dense and narrow-minded?_ "All you've ever been after is personal gain."  _... Deluded idiot._ He shook his head. "I'm not an expert in the musical field... but teamwork requires communication and respect. Clearly, you have neither of those things." He started walking away, knowing that the intermission would be over soon. "No wonder they left you." He turned his head just a bit. "You treat them like nothing except pawns for you to use."

"Wh... Where are you going?!"

"Back." He flashed her a grin. "I have  _friends_ waiting, you know."

Ryouta called after him again but he didn't look back. Eventually, her squawks died down. Only then did Oikawa turn back to see that Ryouta had fallen to her knees, tightly clutching the grass in her fingers.

He had broken her.

Oikawa snorted softly to himself, frowning at the horizon.  _What a worthless person._

* * *

Charlene Cho was practically bouncing in her seat as intermission ended and the disgruntled crowd resettled themselves. This was it. Her idea of the century—no, the  _millennia!_ She couldn't keep a giggle quiet as she thought more and more about the brilliant idea that she had shared with the Makoshimas, the Takahiros and the rest of her fellow judges.

At first, Souma had stood against it, and they had all argued to no avail. Yes, Souma was technically Head Judge, but she, A.R.I.A and the portly judge—Kenta—had all argued with such vehemence that he went along with their idea (though Cho suspected that he only gave in because he too realized the merit of Cho's suggestion). The fifth judge, Masaru, went along with whatever the rest of them decided.

That man really didn't have a brain that belonged to himself.

Now, even Souma was smiling at the prospect. Yuu and Haruto had agreed almost immediately but it had taken more convincing to persuade a reluctant Naoko into consenting. Sumire had looked terrified but her previous performance with Naoko had calmed her nerves down quite considerably and she said so herself that she was ready to do whatever need be to assure at least a  _possibility_ of a victory.

"This whole competition has been one huge fiasco," Souma grumbled, his headset turned off. He rubbed his temples. "All the other ones have been much, much tamer..."

"Oh, but this just makes it even more fun," Cho chirped, forgetting that she had not turned her own headset off. Her voice blared through the speakers and pretty much everyone in the audience sweatdropped at her mistake. "Whoops."

Souma sighed. "Cho, really. I know that you're new to this, but you are seriously turning everything upside-down."

Cho clicked her microphone off and said, "You're no fun."

"I prefer having  _order_ in my competition," snapped Souma. "And you have ruined it." Huffily, he chugged the rest of his long-cooled coffee.

"Aww, poor baby," Cho cooed cheekily. "Does he need bandage for the boo-boo on his ego...?"

A.R.I.A snorted with laughter. "Now there's a good one..." She scanned the crowd. "I think we're ready to end this once and for all. Let's not waste any more time."

"Agreed," said Souma, Masaru nodding along.

"Piano versus violin," mused Kenta. "This is going to be tight."

"I've put my faith in the Takahiro brothers," Masaru said unnecessarily, knowing that he shared the same opinion as Souma. "They've already won twice before."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Cho said. "The Makoshima sisters are very formidable."

"A battle of the sexes," A.R.I.A muttered as she prepared to announce the upcoming piano-violin duel just as a brown-haired teenager returned to his seat. She flicked her headset on along with the other judges. "Sorry for the wait, everyone! We'll be proceeding with our  _final event_ after I give you all a bit of context!" The feline-like woman gestured to Cho, who smiled and waved like a true princess. "Our very special guest judge, Charlene Cho, is the mastermind behind this upcoming event. And what is that event, you may ask?" She held her hands up in a 'Y' shape. "Our very first  _Piano versus Violin duel!_ "

_Three... two... one..._ Cho counted down in her head, gleefully.

"WHOOAAA!" The crowd screamed in delight, absolutely eating out of the palm of A.R.I.A's hand.

"That's right everyone!" A.R.I.A affirmed. "Act numbers one and seven... please come out!"

Cameras flashed brightly as the Makoshima sisters and the Takahiro brothers stepped out at the same time. Naoko and Sumire were standing off to the left of the stage while Yuu and Haruto were standing more to the right.

The girls had their violins ready while the boys already had their pianos set up in a 'tent' or 'triangular' position.

Oikawa nearly choked on his water. So  _this_ was their great idea?

Well, it wasn't terrible.

In fact, this was pretty epic.

"Violin versus piano?!" Hinata screeched, his eyes widening. "Whoaaa! So cool! Look, Kageyama, Sumire looks so confident."

"Confident?" Kageyama repeated, eyeing Sumire's blank face. Well, at least she  _looked_ calm. But, knowing Sumire, that didn't actually mean she was calm at all. If Kageyama were to be honest with himself, she looked as if she were on the brink of having an existential crisis.

"Good luck!" Oikawa cheered, waving to them, having recovered from his small choking episode.

"Beat their pansy asses!" Iwaizumi added, getting a stern glare from several parents in the crowd.

"If you lose, I won't buy you shit!" Kageyama shouted at Sumire, not caring that there were people around that didn't care for his uncouth language.

The Drama Club members' cheering was a jumbled mess but the message got across quite well: Win.

Even Tadashi managed to get his voice past one decibel and actually root for his sisters as loud as he could get.

Eventually, the cheering died down, allowing the battle to start. Piano went first as Yuu's fingers pressed down on the introductory chords for Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No.1, Haruto echoing his music harmoniously. The melody of the piece were deliberate, but mild dissonances against the musical rapport, producing a piquant, melancholy effect that resonated with the entire audience.

The introduction was mid-way when Sumire and Naoko joined in with their violins at the same time, the string instruments humming in a mellow, sensible manner.

Unlike the Takahiro's piano duel, this wasn't about replicating the other's music and ampliflying it. Rather, it was a more subtle kind of duel—a battle where one side tried to outplay the other in a more... polite manner.

The music itself was echoing with loneliness and weaved with longing for the comfort of another.

In a way, it was calming if not a tad depressing.

"Imagine this," Oikawa said suddenly. "You're sitting in a dark cafe by yourself and it's raining outside. You have friends and family that love you but don't really understand you. You're alone." He turned to Iwaizumi. "What did you think, Iwa-chan?"

"It sounds like you're projecting."

"... Yeah, probably."

The composition ended but the sisters initiated another one almost right away. Naoko led the way, practically scrubbing her bow across the strings quickly and sharply. Sumire joined in immediately after and a buzzing, reverberating noise filled the air.

"Flight of the Bumblebee," Ayame noted.

The Takahiro brothers wasted no time on catching up with the sisters, their fingers dancing rapidly across the ivory keys of their respective pianos.

It was a chase scene personified, what with nearly uninterrupted runs of chromatic sixteenth notes being played.

With this composition, it was not so much the pitch or range of the notes that were played that challenged the musician, but simply the musician's ability to move to them quickly enough. Because of this and its complexity, it required a great deal of skill to perform.

It was a standard showcase of virtuosity, whether on the original violin or any other melodic instrument.

The song ended for Naoko and Sumire on a brief low-and-high that rang through Oikawa's ears almost painfully. A heartbeat later, Haruto and Yuu finished as well, down on the lower octave end on the keyboard.

They alternated again with the starter; this time, Yuu began by basically spamming a few of the same notes on his piano for the introductory part.

Like the last piece of the Takahiros' duel piece, this one was a stormy waltz. The thunder, lightning and clouds made a return once again in their music.

Oikawa shuddered when Naoko and Sumire joined in, playing their hearts out on heir violins. He wasn't the only one. Somehow, he atmosphere suddenly got a lot, lot colder.

Or maybe it was just the early autumn breeze.

Who knew, really?

But the composition... It was an absolute blizzard. Snow and ice whipped around every chord they played, weaving its way into the flesh and bone of the people.

The Flight of the Bumblebee had been frantic. The first piece, the one by Erik Satie, had been as mellow as the first day of spring, a nice little stroll in the park.

But this was cold, hard and, dare Oikawa say it or think it,  _malicious._

It was full of hatred and contempt; those high, heavy emotions brewed in a maelstrom and erupted in a tempest of ice and wind.

Then the climax hit; the battlers climbed higher and higher—

And hit the ground with an almighty slam.

Yuu's arms were in the air when the song finished. So was Haruto's.

Naoko and Sumire's arms dropped to the side, the latter's muscles quaking in a combination of fatigue and and nerves.

The audience simply sat in silence, stunned at what had just unfolded before their eyes. A man that had been recording practically dropped his camcorder on the ground, where it clattered.

And then, like a surging tsunami, the crowd roared and bellowed, most of the audience members standing up to stomp their feet as they applauded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Takahiros and the Makoshimas!" Cho cheered, beaming dazzlingly.

Before he knew it, Oikawa, Iwaizumi and Kageyama and Hinata were all standing and following what everyone else was doing, cheering vehemently. Tadashi was next to catch this infectious bug of joy, followed by Midori and Katsumi.

Ayame and Toshio remained seated but shouted as loud as the ones standing. Even Shinji had finally put his phone away and was smiling.

Up on the stage, Naoko and Sumire shook the hands of Yuu and Haruto, the latter beaming.

"You guys did great," Haruto congratulated warmly. "May the best team win!"

"You too," Naoko returned, the corners of her mouth upturned in a small smile.

"You played wonderfully," Yuu said to Sumire, who balked in terror.

"A-ah, thanks...!" she managed to stammer out.

"Alright, alright!" Kenta said, his voice booming through the microphone of his headset. "No use fluffing around anymore, am I right?"

The audience cheered in response.

"It's time to announce the winners of this year's group category in the Sendai Standoff!"

Souma cleared his throat. "Yes, indeed."

It was as if some magic word had been spoken. Miraculously, silence befell the massive crowds, though cameras continued to go off, flashing brightly.

"We, the judges," Souma began, his face hard. There was nothing in his gaze or the way he held himself that suggested the outcome of the competition.

"Oi," Iwaizumi said to Oikawa. "You're shaking."

"Eh? Really?" Oikawa ceased his movements.

"—have decided that the winners of this year's Sendai Standoff—"

"Come on," Tadashi whispered to himself. "Please."

Under the shade of a zelkova tree, Leiko and Yoko watched from the shadows, unnoticed by most.

"—are act number seven: Makoshima Naoko and Sumire, who deserve to be recognized as virtuosos for the magnificent skill they have displayed."

Oikawa didn't even hear Souma's praise.

"Mako-chaaan!" he cried as loud as he could, afraid that his words would be lost in a sea of voices.

Naoko turned her head in his direction.

And smiled; joy that he had never seen before lighting up her eyes.

_Shit_.

He knew this feeling.

Had experienced it before with Izumi and a plethora of other girls. But it had never wracked his bones like this before or surged through his veins.

It was stronger; faster.

And, though he would never admit it, Oikawa was just a little terrified of it too.

* * *

"Kaa-san," Ryouta said softly into her phone. "We have family still back in Tokyo, correct?"

_"Yes, your auntie lives there with her son. Where is this coming from, Rin-chan?"_

"Do you remember that school I used to want to go to as a kid?"

_"... Nekoma?"_

"... Yes. Kaa-san," she said bluntly, "I'm not happy here. Ever since we moved here three years ago..." She took in a deep breath. "It's not the same as Tokyo."

She could practically here her mother's expensive rings grating against each other in contemplation.

_"... I'll have you transferred by tomorrow."_

"Thank you."

Ryouta hung up, sighing deeply.

Maybe running away wasn't the best answer, but it was all she had.

* * *

"Yoko?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's go home."

"Huh? But, Leiko, don't you want to hang out with your friends—"

"Please."

"... Okay."

* * *

Sniffling, Mizushima opened the bathroom door, her camera swinging around her neck, her flute in one hand.

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

It was time to dry her tears.


	23. Another's Burden

_There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others._

—  _Mandy Hale_

* * *

The world moved faster than she could keep up and that was saying something. Naoko blandly shook the warm hands of the Takahiro brothers' during a congratulatory handshake before moving on to Cho, who tucked the large cheque for half a million yen underneath her armpit to receive her handshake.

To the side, Sumire's face was filled with color as she exchanged quite a hearty handshake with Yuu and Haruto, no longer looking so terrified of the piano prodigies.

_We won,_ Naoko thought numbly as she accepted the cheque with a dip of the head. Cho smiled and returned the gesture. There was a bubbling feeling rising in her chest as she smiled for the cameras, Sumire standing dutifully beside her.

Sumire's hands moved; they were now both sharing the burden of holding such a huge piece of cardboard paper.

_This feeling..._ Naoko could feel her cheeks hurt as she smiled again.  _... Is wonderful._ At that moment, all the weight she carried on her shoulders evaporated. She straightened, feeling lighter than she had been in a long time. It was an intense beam of light directed to the soul and warmed her bones.

"Nee-chan," Sumire squeaked, her face red as reality crashed down upon her. "We... we..."

"Won," Naoko finished for her, her voice filled with a calm joy as she regarded her sister, who was in total awe of the situation. "We won, Sumire-chan."

Was happiness  _really_ just temporary satisfaction?

Or something more?

Naoko opted on the latter.

"Hey, nee-chan...?"

"Hm?"

"I wanna go home." Sumire struggled to stifle a yawn. "I'm so sleepy..."

Naoko chortled quietly. "Of course you are." She scanned the crowd, her eyes eventually landing on Oikawa.

_Thank you for coming. For supporting me, even though you didn't have to._

* * *

It was a familiar scene that Naoko welcomed with open arms. School: Monday morning. It felt like she had been away from Aobajosai for far too long; the weekend had been a total drag after the Sendai Standoff so the excited buzz and chatter of the students were certainly a comfort.

As she swapped to her indoor shoes, Tadashi doing the same at his own locker (which was opposite hers), someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hi there. You're the winner of the Sendai Standoff, right? Makoshima Naoko?"

Naoko blinked, unused to being approached by anyone really, seeing as she had no friends in her grade. "Yes, I am. Did you need something?"

The girl blushed. "N-not really. I just wanted to congratulate you on your win. Goodbye!"

"Huh? Ah, bye."

Besides that small incident, the entire day was blissfully uneventful until the last class. The bell rang, indicating that students were allowed to go to their club activities, just as Naoko finished the rest of her classwork. Packing up and in no hurry, she made her way down to the drama clubroom.

She arrived just as Tachibana was calling the students to order.

"Good afternoon," Tachibana chirped to Naoko.

"Good afternoon, Tachibana-sensei," Naoko replied with a small bow. She sat down between Toshio and Katsumi, the latter and former both greeting her in their usual ways.

In a way, Naoko was inwardly glad that nothing had changed between them.

"So," Ayame began, grinning at Naoko. "The Sendai Standoff, huh? You told us that you weren't going to enter."

"I changed my mind," Naoko said simply.

"I can see  _that._ Anywho, congrats." Ayame reached over and patted her back. "Be more happy, Naoko! You won, after all."

A small smile crept on her face. "I guess."

"You guess?" Toshio echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Don't give me that crap. Be proud of your achievements. Boast about them for all I care! You've earned the right."

Naoko merely fixed him with a stare. "I will if I want to."

"Where's Leiko?" Midori voiced, scratching her head. "She was at school today. She's in my class."

"How odd," Tachibana commented, her brown hair falling around her face as she leaned forward and frowned. "It's unlike Leiko to skive off, even if she doesn't seem to always enjoy participating in our activities."

"She went home," Shinji said unexpectedly. All eyes turned to the boy who rarely spoke. He showed them his phone. "See? She texted me and told me to tell you, Tachibana-sensei."

"You got her number?!" Toshio spluttered, his face going red. "How?! Why?!"

"I've got her number too," Katsumi said.

"Us too," Ayame and Midori added, the former looking faintly amused.

Toshio turned to Naoko. "Don't tell me you have it too?"

To his relief, she shook her head.  _We dislike each other too much for that ever to happen._

"Thank you," Toshio said huffily. "Finally, someone sensible."

Somehow, Naoko felt that his ire was directed at something else rather than everyone else's apparently nonsensical ideas. If she didn't know any better, she would say that he sounded almost... jealous?  _Is he envious of the others for being closer to Leiko than he is?_

"I was going to assign roles for the Cinderella pantomime today," Tachibana said uncertainly. "But now I'm not so sure. Perhaps we should wait for Leiko to return. We've got plenty of time to rehearse anyway."

"Good idea, sensei," said Katsumi. From the way her face was turning nearly  _blue,_ it looked as if she had something she really wanted to say.

Before she could asphyxiate herself, however, Tachibana identified the warning signs and swiftly asked, "Katsumi, is there something you want to tell us...?"

Katsumi made some kind of explosive noise before sucking in a deep breath. "Okay, so it's like this." She bit her lip, doubt beginning to creep up on her as all of them leaned inward in anticipation.

"The reason why Leiko entered the competition," she said cautiously. "Is because she wanted to raise money for her sister's animal shelter." There was a pause. "She told me not to tell all of you... but... they really need the money. Otherwise the shelter will shut down and..." She sighed, her hair seemingly wilting simultaneously. "I don't want to see that happen."

"Aww," Midori bemoaned. "That's so sad." Her eyes seemed to grow larger. "Those poor helpless animals will be forced to move out into the streets all alone...!"

"Exactly." Katsumi nodded. "Which is why we have to do something about it."

"Katsumi," Tachibana warned, "I appreciate how much you want to help Leiko, but what about the pantomime?"

"Wait, sensei," Ayame cut in. "We can fit in rehearsal times as well. Everything we'll do for Leiko will be outside of school time."

Tachibana nodded slowly, convinced. "Well, if you're sure. I wish you luck, but  _please_ do try to be responsible with your time management!"

"Yes, sensei!" Ayame, Midori and Katsumi chorused.

"Hold on a sec," Midori said, glancing at Toshio, Shinji and Naoko. "Are we all gonna help?"

"I can't," Toshio said regretfully. "I have family over at the moment and my parents insist on me spending time with them."

"I have work," Shinji stated.

"I as well," Naoko added, though with not as much conviction as she would have liked herself to exude.  _I still have a week until my paid leave is over and I return to work._ She still had work on Sundays but her shifts at Umeko's maid cafe were currently absent from her schedule. Still, she had a family to look after, bills to pay (she acted as a proxy for their grandmother, who was technically their official guardian) and schoolwork to do. Before she knew it, the words were out of her mouth. "But I can make time."

"That's great!" Katsumi trilled.

_Too late now,_ Naoko mused, wondering just what she gotten herself into this time. All she had wanted was a quiet, peaceful year. It seemed like she wasn't going to get any of that now, considering how proactive she was being.

Fortunately, Tachibana, realizing just how much they cared for Leiko's situation (or rather, how much Midori, Katsumi and Ayame cared), allowed them to have the afternoon to discuss plans on just  _how_ they would raise enough money in order to fund for Leiko's sister's animal shelter.

An hour later, they came to a stalemate, unable to decide between three main ideas.

"I still think we should do a bake sale," Katsumi said stubbornly. "My family business can supply all the pastries and stuff! We're pretty well-off so it won't be that much of a big deal."

"I'm a professional dog-walker," Midori boasted, earning some skeptical looks from a few of the others. "We should start up our own dog-walking service!"

"I think we should busk for money," Ayame said airily, tapping her pencil on the table. In front of her was a sheet of paper. Save for some scribbles, it was practically blank.

"Why not do all three?" Naoko said suddenly.

Ayame hummed in contemplation. "That's not a bad idea. But my busking idea..." She clicked her tongue. "Can anyone here sing?"

Midori and Katsumi both shook their heads, looking put out.

"Naoko?" Ayame tried again.

"No," Naoko said flatly.

"Darn."

"But she can play an instrument," Toshio pointed out. "That counts for something, right?"

"But it'd be really plain," Katsumi sighed miserably. "We'd need an accompanying instrument."

"The reason why I suggested that in the first place was because I  _do_ play an instrument," Ayame giggled. "Electric keyboard, actually. I'm no prodigy like the Takahiros but I can produce some good stuff."

"Electric keyboard and violin?" Toshio said skeptically. "Would that really be a good combination?"

"Oh... right... dammit."

"Don't worry," Naoko said nonchalantly. "I can busk on my own. You just worry about the bake sale and the dog walking service."

"We should start making an official plan," Ayame said, drawing on the paper. "Katsumi can be in charge of handling the bake sale. I'll help her out with that. Naoko, you'll be busking by yourself, is that okay?"

"I did offer, so yes, it's fine," Naoko affirmed. "Thank you for your concern."

"No worries... that leaves the dog walking service to Midori. But she won't be able to handle it all on her own. Naoko, when you're free, can you help her out?"

"Sure. We should all exchange contact numbers just in case as well."

"Ooh, good idea!" Katsumi agreed.

They all started swapping phones, Toshio watching them awkwardly, not quite brave enough to ask for Naoko's number. Shinji merely stared at the wall, disinterested.

"I'll call you when I need you," Midori promised with a joyful smile on her face. "This is going to be so much fun!"

_It's also going to be hard work_ , Naoko though grimly.

So it was decided; they would all stick to the plan. Katsumi offered to talk to Leiko about the whole thing to see if she would join Naoko in busking (the latter, though not very fond of the girl, didn't object).

Tachibana waved them off. "Goodbye, everyone! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, sensei!"

* * *

_Where the hell is Tadashi?_

It was getting quite late and Tadashi still hadn't come out yet. Monday practice had been reinstituted thanks to the upcoming Spring Tournament but she thought that they would have come out by now.

If Tadashi didn't come out in five minutes, she was going to go after him, so help her.

Five minutes passed.

She was still alone.

Sighing in exasperation, she forced her legs to move toward where the gymnasium was. The sun was nearly down so there would be many fangirls around if any at all. It was for this reason that Naoko even bothered trying to open the doors.

It clicked open underneath her hands.

The first sounds that greeted her were the squeak of volleyball shoes skidding against the wooden floor and the slam of a ball.

They were currently doing an assortment of drills, spiking being one of them.

Her presence was immediately noticed by the coaches, who frowned.

"Hey," the younger coach, a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, said in lieu of greeting. "Listen, if you're here to see Oikawa—"

"I came to fetch my brother."

The older coach raised his eyebrows, something sparking in his eyes. "Makoshima, right?" At Naoko's nod, he continued easily, "Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long. Oikawa says that practice ends in ten minutes."

"Oh? You don't make the decisions around here?"

"Watch your tongue," the younger coach said curtly.

"Apologies," Naoko said smoothly.

"Don't get your hair in a twist," the old coach said, smiling amiably. "To answer your question, I have put my entire confidence in my team, Oikawa especially."

_He's being serious,_ Naoko realized. Her respect for Oikawa grew just a little in that moment. From what she was seeing right now, she understood why the coach was so laid back when it came to Oikawa taking the reins. She had to admit, Oikawa had a special talent—one that allowed to fully utilize the abilities of his teammates to the fullest extent. He was brilliant and lifting up morale too and seemed to have a good relationship with everyone, even the grumpy second year that seemed more dog than human.

Oikawa was in complete control of things.

Naoko nodded one last time to the coaches before making a move toward the bleachers, where she intended to wait out the rest of the ten minutes.

"HEADS!" someone shouted.

Oikawa had spiked and the person digging hadn't manage to receive it cleanly enough, the ball flying off to the side.

Naoko turned her head.

And a ball slammed into her face.

 


	24. Domestics

_Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg until it is broken._

—  _M. F. K. Fisher_

* * *

Naoko hadn't even had time to move when the ball flew straight at her. But she made do with what she could; in order to avoid a broken nose, she turned her face to the side, allowing the volleyball to smack right into her cheek. She wasn't quick enough; the ball hit part of her nose anyway, though she had significantly reduced the amount of damage taken.

The impact made her stumble backward. Naoko caught herself before she could lose balance and smash her head on the tiered seating, digging her back foot into the floor.

The ball gently fell to the floor and began rolling away from her feet in a random direction.

Then the room exploded with noise.

"Waaahh! Mako-chan?!"

"N-nee-chan?!"

"BAKAWA!"

"What kind of crappy receive was that, Kyotani?!"

"Feh! Don't throw that shit at me,  _Mattsun._ You're not the one who had to catch a fucking missile in your arms."

"That's enough!" Iwaizumi ordered sharply and the team fell silent, albeit begrudgingly. Oikawa shot him a grateful look and nodded apologetically to the coaches before moving to where Naoko was standing, her head lowered.

"Mako-chan," Oikawa started, reaching out toward her to tilt her chin up. "Mako-chan, speak to me—"

She caught his arm midway without even looking up. "Calm down. I'm not dying."

Tadashi joined them, fidgeting worriedly. "Oh, no, Naachan! Why did you come here?"

Oikawa pointedly ignored Tadashi, something which did not escape Naoko.

"Ahh..." Oikawa sighed. "I knew this would happen one day. How unfortunate that it had to be you, Mako-chan."

"It was an accident," she said indifferently, glancing up. "I don't hold it against any of you if that's what you're concerned about."

Oikawa ogled her. Or, rather, stared at the little rivulet of blood trickling down from her nose. "Your nose is bleeding."

She lifted up her hand, touching the sticky wet substance. "So it is," she acknowledged. Naoko pinched her nose and lowered her head again. "... How bothersome."

There was already a growing bruise on her cheek, Oikawa nodded. For a martial artist, she sure bruised easily. On the face, at least. "I'm going to take you to the infirmary."

"Eh? Oikawa, it's just a small nosebleed," she said, releasing her pinched fingers for just a moment. "It'll go away soon enough."

But Oikawa had made up his mind. "Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "I'm responsible for your injury, so it means I owe you one."

She regarded him with calculating eyes. "Are you being serious about... owing me one?"

"Naachan—" Tadashi was cut off by Oikawa.

" _Yes,_ I'm being serious," he affirmed, sounding rather affronted at her skepticism. "I'm taking you to the nurse whether you like it or not." He took her by the hand but she refused to budge. "Mako-chan."

"Naachan, why did you come?" Tadashi asked, catching Naoko by the shoulder. "You should have just walked home without me." If he had been looking, he would have noticed the way Oikawa clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"And let you walk home by yourself?" Naoko questioned. "Not a chance. Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

"If I may," Makki cut in rather dryly, "I would like to point out that Makoshima-san stands at six foot three and looks like he wants to murder someone when he glares."

Naoko turned on him, her eyes burning. "Shut up."  _I am seriously not in the fucking mood for this._ She had a nosebleed, her face was aching and Sumire was probably wondering just where the hell she and Tadashi were. "This is none of your business."

"Uh, considering you were having a  _bitch fit_ about it in front of all of us—"

"What he means, Mako-chan," Oikawa interrupted hastily. "Is that you're probably not in the right mindset to deal with all this right now, so let me take you somewhere quieter. Namely, the infirmary."

"Hold up," Naoko snapped, wiping more blood from her nose with her sleeve. "You said you owed me one and this is not how I intend for you to pay me back."

"Eh? That's what you're worried about?" Oikawa stood up to his full height, hands on his hips. "Are you trying to hustle me, Mako-chan?"

Her head throbbed and she hissed in pain. "Just... let me go home with Tadashi. I'm sorry I had to interrupt practice like this. Just... please let me go."

"... Fine," Oikawa relented, sighing in exasperation. "Geehh... so stubborn. You can tell me what you want tomorrow then. Go home and rest."

"Concerned father alert," Mattsun chuckled to Makki, not bothering to be quiet. "Ain't that cute?"

"It's... oddly domestic," Yahaba noted with a contemplative frown.

"Hn," Kyotani grunted, wholly uninterested.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Naoko said with a nod, the flow of blood finally slowing down. "Come on, Tadashi, pack your stuff. We're going home."

"Okay, Naachan..." He glanced ruefully at his teammates, who gave him sympathetic looks.

"I hope you're not planning anything naughty," Oikawa remarked to Naoko as the team returned to practice, Iwaizumi in command.

"Don't flatter yourself," Naoko said quietly. "Aren't you going to join them?"

He shook his head. "They'll survive without me for a bit. I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

Oikawa gave her an amused look. "Do I need a reason to talk to a pretty girl? Haven't you heard of making small talk?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Of course I have. I just... don't see the point of discussing the weather or anything."

"It doesn't have to be the weather. How did you spend the money you won at the Standoff?" He grinned at her. "Bought some new clothes or...?"

"No. The money went into our family vault to pay for my grandmother's hospital funds and the electricity and water bills."

If Oikawa was surprised he didn't show it. "I see," he mused. "Did Sumire-chan buy anything?"

"No. She knows not to spend  _too_  frivolously. I had a talk about it with her as soon as I got home."

"What a control freak," Oikawa said offhandedly, giving her a look.

"I don't care," Naoko stated, scowling at him. "I'm well aware of the... restrictions I assign to my family. You don't have to tell me that. It's not nice but it's necessary. I allow them to spend on snacks and groceries anyway."

He hummed. "Like I said, control freak."

She punched his arm as hard as Iwaizumi usually did and he winced, giving her a mock betrayed look. "Oyster-chan! That's my spiking arm!"

"And that's my problem how?"

"If we lose the Spring Tournament I'm blaming it on you," he snarked.

"Yes, blame your own failures on me, please," she said with no real malice in her voice.

At that moment, Tadashi returned with his things.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Good." Naoko nodded in approval. "Good night, Oikawa."

"Night, Mako-chan."

Again, Naoko noticed, he only acknowledged her and not Tadashi.

* * *

Tuesday thus far was certainly uneventful for Kageyama. Lunch had just finished and he was now sitting in his classroom, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

"Afternoon, Kageyama-kun," a cheery voice greeted. It was the class representative of class 1-3, a girl with brown hair and a jolly smile. She was always trying to get Kageyama to befriend some of his classmates for one reason or another ("Look, Kageyama-kun, they're talking about Tokemon! You like Tokemon, right? All guys do, right?" "No, I don't like Tokemon." "Oh, okay."), not quite understanding that Kageyama didn't  _want_  to talk to the rest.

"Er... hello."  _... I've forgotten her name again. I just call her the "Annoying Girl" in my head..._

"Don't act like you don't know me," she laughed, putting a hand on her cheek as she did so. "Come on, Kageyama-kun! I just want to be your friend. You don't seem to have any other friends."

"I  _do_  have friends," Kageyama retorted, annoyed.  _Just because I don't talk to anyone in this class doesn't mean I don't have friends, dumbass!_

"You mean those noisy boys from the volleyball club?"

Kageyama stared at her in disbelief.  _He_ was one of those  _noisy_   _boys_  from the volleyball club. The boys that the class representative spoke of so condescendingly.

"Oh my," the girl continued. "They seem so scary though..."

"Stop it," snapped Kageyama, slamming his palms on his desk. "Don't talk about them like that. Don't talk about them like you even know anything."

She shrank back. "O-oh, sorry..."

The class representative slunk back to her seat, cowed by Kageyama's scolding, just as the teacher entered the room.

The class said their greetings and the teacher smirked and began with an announcement.

"Good afternoon. It's nice to see you all so awake and ready to learn." She cleared her throat, eyeing a kid in the back who looked half-asleep. "However, I would like all of you to put your books away because, instead of Japanese History, which you all excel at as a whole, we'll be doing a little... experiment."

The class burst into murmurs, Kageyama being the only one who didn't bother to join in.

"I know this is all very exciting, but I bet that some of you won't look so happy when I tell you what it is." The teacher gave the boys a smug glance. "Especially the gentlemen. Karasuno has the honor to be chosen as the only school in the Miyagi Prefecture to participate in a nation-wide experiment. You see, Japan has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in the industrialised world and we'd like to keep it that way. However... the four percent of teens that do get pregnant or get another pregnant struggle to raise the children on their own or together. Which is why, in order to try and minimalize this struggle, the Japanese government has decided to do this."

 _Do what exactly?_ Kageyama wondered, trying his best to ignore the feeling of impending doom that was growing in the pit of his stomach.

As if on cue, the student teacher, a handsome young man in his twenties that the girls in his class adored, stepped in, holding several six-pack cartons of—

"Eggs?" Kageyama said out loud.

"Eggs!" exclaimed the class representative, her eyes growing wide with excitement.

"That's right, ladies and gentlemen!" the teacher said, pushing up her glasses dramatically and making a rather flamboyant pose. "For two weeks, we're going to partner up and and look after these eggs!"

Kageyama stared blankly at the teacher, oblivious to the longing glances the class representative was shooting him.

The student teacher carefully set the egg cartons down on the teacher's desk, smiling cheekily.

"I'll be pulling names out of a hat," the teacher declared, grabbing said hat from her table. The class groaned, knowing what would come next. "The two names I'll pull out will be paired up together." Her gaze grew sterner. "In order to be successful, you will have to work together. And yes, this does contribute to your overall grade, so no excuses."

Without further ado, she began to call out names.

Kageyama hardly paid attention as girls were paired up with their best friend since diapers, squealing in delight. Nor did he pay anymore attention when boys gave each other some manly fist bumps to dissuade any rumours about them being homosexual starting. Pairs of the opposite sex were also named but, again, Kageyama was lost in his own little world.

"Kageyama Tobio."

He lifted his head up ever so slightly.

"And Honda Kaede."

With a grimace, Kageyama remembered just  _who_  Honda Kaede was.

"Whoa, did you hear that?" one boy whispered loudly to his friend. "Honda Kaede with Kageyama Tobio! What a pair. The class' smartest and dumbest!"

Kageyama shot the speaker a withering glare and he instantly shut up, pressing his lips together comically.

On the other side of the room, Honda Kaede, class 1-3's student representative gave him a friendly smile.

* * *

**LINE: DUMBASS**

[Kageyama]: help

[Makoshima]: what?

[Kageyama]: how do you look after a child?

[Makoshima]: WHAT

[Makoshima]: WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME

[Makoshima]: WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED TO KNOW

[Kageyama]: you're a girl aren't you?! Aren't u supposed to know about this stuff?

[Makoshima]: Kags. I am 13. Did you really expect me to know anything about raising a kid? And where's my ramen?

[Kageyama]: how's tonight? Then you can get your ramen while we talk about the baby

[Makoshima]: baby?! Who in their right mind would give you a baby?! omg don't tell me you got someone pregnant

[Kageyama]: DUMBASS ITS AN EGG

[Makoshima]: WHAT. So it's still growing? Who's the mom?

[Kageyama]: NO ITS LITERALLY AN EGG LIKE A CHICKEN EGG

[Makoshima]: ooh... so it's like some weird class project parenting thing? Don't you have a partner or something?

[Kageyama]: yea

[Makoshima]: then bother her not me

[Kageyama]: cant

[Makoshima]: wut why not

[Kageyama]: I don't like her

[Makoshima]: oh god you are such a baby

[Makoshima]: fine I'll try to help but don't expect much

[Kageyama]: THANK you

[Makoshima]: see u tonite

[Makoshima]: prepare your wallet

* * *

"Leiko, there's someone here to see you!" Yoko called from the other room.

"Who?" Leiko yelled back, currently immersed in a book.  _Who the hell wants to visit me?_

"Leikoooo!" a very familiar voice sounded from the front door.

Leiko buried her face in her pillow. "Katsumi," she mumbled into the fluffy fabric. The girl had been ringing her all day and she hadn't picked up even once. She had hoped that the pinkette would get the hint but the only thing it had done was spurred her to make some face to face contact with Leiko.

Katsumi appeared at her doorway, smiling ruefully.

Leiko groaned, cursing Yoko inwardly for letting her into the house.

The pink-haired girl sat down on Leiko's bed without any sort of invitation.

"We need to talk."

* * *

 _**A/N:** _ _**Obviously, Tokemon is Pokemon.** _

_**The current timeline is mid-August. Not sure when exactly Kyotani comes back to the Aobajosai team but it's around this time so let's include him anyway.** _

 


	25. Kagoshima

_Contemporary ramen is totally different than what most Americans think ramen should be. Ramen is not one thing; there are many, many different types._

—  _David Chang_

* * *

_"Kagoshima Ramen Place?"_  Kageyama echoed from the other side of the phone, his voice slightly muffled as it came through the receiver.  _"It's... it's so expensive! What the hell are you trying to pull?!"_

"Silly, Tobio-chan," Sumire replied, smirking. "You really had no idea just what you were getting into, did you?"

_"Fuck you."_

"I'll pass," she said, before realizing just what had come out of her mouth. Swiftly, she added, "Where are you now?"  _Thank god he's not here._ Her face was absolutely burning up, even in the early autumn chill. Thankfully, being the dense brick he was, Kageyama likely didn't catch on to  _that_ little innuendo.

Kageyama named the street he was currently at and Sumire nodded slowly. "You're close," she told him. "Just five minutes away from me... Want to race to the restaurant?"

_"You're on, you smug twig."_

Sumire hung up just as she heard a yell from the distance. She whipped her head around, her eyes widening at the sight of Kageyama full-on sprinting to her position. With no time to waste, she started to move her legs as well, screeching as Kageyama gained ground on her.

"What the hell?!" she shouted at him as she ran. "How did you cover so much distance in literally seconds?!"

"My legs are long, scrub!" he sneered at her as he easily passed her, ruffling her hair as he did so. "Too bad!"

"COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! THIS IS NO WAY TO TREAT YOUR GUEST, DUMBASS!"

"WE'RE NOT IN THE RESTAURANT YET, TECHNICALLY YOU'RE NOT MY GUEST!" Kageyama called back. "CAN'T HANDLE LOSING, CAN YOU?!"

Suddenly, a shop door opened and a balding man emerged, ticked off. "HEY! SHUT UP!"

Startled, Sumire tripped over herself and flew right into Kageyama's back, sending them both to the ground. Hurriedly, they got up and brushed themselves off, their hair sticking out in some places.

"Sorry," Kageyama apologized to the man.

But the man rudely slammed the door shut on him.

"Nice going, asshole," Sumire grumbled as she rubbed a sore spot on her elbow.

"Hah! Says you,  _twig._ I'm surprised someone as small and thin as you can contain such a large pair of lungs."

She blinked at him. "Is Tobio-kun finally using different ways to insult people?"

He whacked her upside the head gently. "Shut up, runt."

"Ah,  _there_ we go."

He hit her again and she giggled, swatting his arm away.

"It's so goddamn cold," Kageyama complained, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck. "Let's hurry up and go inside already."

"Where did you leave your egg?" Sumire questioned.

Kageyama patted his bag. "In there somewhere."

Sumire stared at him in disbelief. "You're joking, right?!"

"No? Why?"

"Gah!" Sumire groaned. "You're so irresponsible. What if it broke in there or something? Then you and your partner will fail. Speaking of, why doesn't she have it? Surely, she's got to be better at taking care of it than you." As she spoke, she unzipped his sports bag and removed the egg, sighing in relief when she saw that there were no cracks on the shell.

"I took the egg and left as soon as I could," Kageyama informed her. "I didn't want her to follow me." Irritated, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Volleyball practice was cancelled because of this stupid egg shit."

"Wow." Sumire let out a low whistle. "Is this a one-time thing?"

"Yeah. Daichi doesn't want to waste too much time so practice will be back on tomorrow. According to Daichi, I'm supposed to use this day to talk to my partner and arrange a 'taking care' schedule or something..."

"And yet, here you are, totally clueless."

"Shut up. I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Too bad."

At last, they arrived in front of Kagoshima Ramen Place, only to be greeted with a ridiculously long line. Sumire groaned into her scarf.

"You're joking! It's, like, Tuesday night! How is it this busy?"

From across the street, a girl with mousy brown hair and a backpack observed the pair curiously. Honda Kaeda smiled to herself as she adjusted the strap on her bag and crossed the road, where Kagoshima Ramen stood, tall and proud.

_I didn't realize that Kageyama-kun had a little sister,_ Honda thought, smiling to herself.  _This will be my chance to make a good first impression! Maybe if his sister accepts me then..._ A blush crept up on her cheeks.  _... Maybe Kageyama-kun will finally accept me too._

For Honda, it had started out as curiosity getting the better of her. From the day Kageyama Tobio had entered the classroom, a scowl on his face, he had always exuded an air of mystery. He hardly spoke in class and, if Honda didn't know any better, she would have thought that he was mute. He only talked whenever the teacher called on him or when someone spoke to him first.

As class representative, Honda had made it her duty to find Kageyama a friend, only to discover that pretty much everyone in their class had given up on trying to befriend the broody boy.

"No way," one boy had said when she had inquired. "That guy..." He had shivered. "Is so scary. I'd stay away from him, if I were you. I hear he hangs out with that delinquent in the second year. Nishinoya or something..."

"He's pretty cute but really weird," a girl had said. "I don't want to be his friend... sorry."

Being the kind and caring person she was, Honda had decided that the next step was to befriend Kageyama herself, seeing as no one else was stepping up to the plate. Honda closed her eyes and sighed, her breath becoming vapor in the cold.  _Kageyama-kun is so cold to me..._ She clutched her fist, making a resolve.  _Looks like I'll have to try harder! Then Kageyama might like me back!_

That curiosity had bloomed into something that she had never felt so strongly before. Like any other school girl, Honda had had her fair share of crushes. But this... she was certain that Kageyama was  _the one._

Her boots scuffed against the gravel as she approached Kageyama and Sumire, who were chatting animatedly as they waited for the line to reduce. Kageyama noticed her immediately.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I was just passing through," Honda said amiably. "And I saw you here so I decided to say hi!"

Kageyama grimaced, unsure of how to respond. "Erm... hi, then."

But Honda had already moved on to Sumire, who was currently holding the egg with both hands. "Hi there! My name's Honda Kaede. You must be Kageyama-kun's sister. It's a huge pleasure to meet you! You can call me nee-chan if you want!" Honda stretched her hand out but Sumire never touched it.

"I'm not Tobio-kun's sister," she stated. "And I only have one nee-chan, so no thanks." With that, she turned away from Honda.

The class representative faltered. "Oh, oops. Sorry, I should really stop making a habit of assuming things...!"

"That'd be good," Sumire said without turning around. "Hey, Tobio-kun, didn't you make bookings?"

"Of course not, dumbass," he said irritably, flicking her forehead. She whined and rubbed the spot, glaring up at him. "You notified me last minute. There wasn't any time to make bookings."

_... I'm being ignored,_ Honda realized, sweatdropping. "I can get you inside," she said loudly, drawing their attention. "My uncle runs the restaurant and I can you seats in a special room."

"Special room?" Sumire parroted, skeptical.

"Uh huh!" Honda nodded eagerly. She dragged them inside. "Come on, Kageyama-kun!"

"Oi!" Sumire snapped, "Be careful! I'm holding something delicate."

"Sorry, sorry!"

Kageyama sighed, scowling at the back of Honda's head.  _Why did Annoying Girl have to show up? Why can't she just leave me alone with_ —

Sumire brushed past him, her familiar, welcoming scent filling his nose. It was a welcomed contrast to the asphyxiating fruity perfume that Honda wore.

"Are you coming, Tobio-kun?" she called, her face blank when Honda said something into her ear. "I'd rather eat without all the noise."

Soon, they arrived in a small room with a single table inside, the table space big enough for four people to eat.

"Would it be too much to ask for free ramen?" Kageyama asked, not really expecting any results.

"Sorry, Kageyama-kun," Honda giggled nervously. "But even my uncle won't go as far as to serve free food to his customers!"

"Whatever, it's fine." He glared over the menu at Sumire, who was having a hard time stifling her obnoxious laughter. "Stop looking so constipated, twig, and order already."

Sumire glanced at Honda, expecting her to leave. When she didn't, Sumire queried, "So, um, are you staying to take our orders...?"

"Oh, no." Honda giggled again, a sound that Sumire and Kageyama were both coming to despise. "I notified my uncle and a waiter should be coming here soon." She twiddled her thumbs, blushing. "But... can I stay here with you guys? I don't really have anything on tonight." She pointed at the egg that Sumire had set on the table. "Also, that's mine and Kageyama-kun's project and I never got to discuss anything about it with him since he left so soon."

Sumire gave Kageyama an accusing stare. "So  _this_ is the baby mommy! Shame on you, Tobio-kun, leaving her out in the cold like that."  _The girl you don't like,_ were the unspoken words.

"Oh, shut up," he snapped. "She's here now, isn't she?" He turned his glare to her, unintentionally making her flinch. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Geez, rude," Sumire muttered under her breath, elbowing Kageyama.

He shoved back at her and she held her side, grimacing.

"Does that mean I can stay?" Honda asked uncertainly.

"Sure, why not," Sumire said, smiling. " _Someone's_ got to take responsibility for this poor abandoned child." She poked the egg and it nearly rolled off the table. "Oops, that was a close one."

"Yeah, no," Kageyama said dryly, taking the 'child' from her. "I don't trust you with it. Your twiggy arms are too light to support it."

"Hey! I'm probably the one here most likely  _not_ to break the damn thing!"

"Hah!" He barked a laugh. "What happened to 'poor abandoned child'?" he asked mockingly, smirking at her.

"Sh-shut up!"

Honda chuckled apprehensively.  _Oookay..._ A thought hit her.  _Wait. Are... are they dating?_ Her face fell.  _No way... she's way too young. She's like, what, ten?_ "Kageyama-kun, we should meet up at each other's houses after school to take care of the egg," she told him, smiling.

"Can't we just take turns looking after it?" Kageyama countered. "You can have it tomorrow and then I'll have it the day after."

"I guess..."  _This_ does  _go toward our final grade for Japanese History. And I have to maintain my grades! Not even Kageyama-kun will get in the way of that._ She was well aware of the fact that Kageyama wasn't exactly the brightest in their class. Judging by the somewhat desperate look on his face, he  _really_ didn't want to... directly share responsibilities. "Are you sure you can handle it?" she asked concernedly.

Kageyama nodded affirmatively. "I won't break it if that's what you're worried about."

"Okay... just make sure to keep it refrigerated during the night otherwise it'll go bad. We have to bring it to school every day for two weeks, so remember that as well."

"Tobio-kun isn't an idiot," Sumire said disarmingly. "I'm pretty sure he can remember those few things."

Honda flushed. "Y-yes, well... he doesn't exactly excel in class... no offence, Kageyama-kun," she added hurriedly.

Kageyama glowered at her. "How does that matter? I have better things to do than study, that's why."

"What he means is that he has commitments outside of studying," Sumire clarified, apparently an expert at translating Kageyama-speak. "Surely, you have to understand that, right?"

"Right... sorry." She bowed her head to them. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine..." Kageyama muttered, sweatdropping. "Please stop apologizing. You already did it once."

So Honda joined them for dinner, excitedly chatting to Kageyama, who reciprocated her words with simple one-word answers or even grunts at time. Honda hardly spoke to Sumire throughout the entire thing, resulting in a bored Sumire whose only saving grace was the delicious kagoshima ramen the restaurant served.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Kageyama announced, standing up abruptly. "Stay here, twig."

"Pfft, like I could go anywhere without you paying," she said dryly. "Yeah, hope you didn't forget."

"It's just hard to remember a runt like you sometimes."

"Shut up, beanpole!"

"Dumbass, that's Tsukishima."

"Shit, you're right. My bad."

Kageyama smirked at her as he disappeared from the room, having won that round.

"So..." Honda tapped her nails on the table, awkwardly regarding Sumire. "What's your relationship with Kageyama-kun...?"

Sumire didn't know whether to be grateful or not for her lack of tact.

"You certainly don't beat around the bush," Sumire said slowly, thrown off guard by such a direct question. "We're just friends, you know."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."  _I'm starting to see why Tobio doesn't like her._ The girl was certainly nosy, and Sumire was sure that she had yet to see the worst of this Honda person.

"Wow!" Honda blinked at her owlishly. "I thought you were, like, ten or something!"

Sumire stared at her blankly. "Right."

Sighing, Honda leaned back and kicked her feet up on the table. "Listen, I'm going to be straight with you, okay? I... like Kageyama-kun. I just really want to know whether you like him that way or not!"

Silently, Sumire stared at the table, contemplating a response.  _Me? Like Tobio that way?_ She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  _Do I... really like him like that? We're just friends, aren't we?_ She could almost see Kageyama reaching for her forehead to check for a temperature when Sumire had requested (see: stammered at) him to cheer her on at the Sendai Standoff.  _... I don't know anymore. I thought there were clear lines, but apparently not._ Honda was still waiting for a reply. Judging from the way she was twirling her hair in her fingers, she was getting impatient.  _What the hell do I say to her?! Help!_ She looked to the only exit in the room, hoping for Kageyama to make a return.

"Well?" Honda prompted, biting her lip. "I'm waiting."

"... No." Sumire surprised herself as she spat out the lie. (Half-truth? Lie? What even?). "Tobio-kun and I are just friends."

Honda breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you... sorry for being pushy."

"Erm, it's fine..."

Kageyama returned just as the conversation ended, none the wiser.

* * *

Downstairs at Kagoshima Ramen Place, the entire volleyball team of Aobajosai—save for one Makoshima Tadashi— was currently slurping up noodles to their heart's content.

"Thanks for dinner, Oikawa-san!" Yahaba said cheerfully.

"Can I get another pork ramen?" Mattsun demanded. "I'm starved."

"Another?" Oikawa sweatdropped at Mattsun's ramen order. "... That was your third bowl."

"Like I said. Famished."

Oikawa groaned and flagged down another waitress.  _Mattsun and Makki alone are going to destroy my wallet._ It was a good thing that both his parents were rich business people. Sure, they were hardly home, but he had Hotaru and Takeru for familial company, right?

"Hey, guys," Makki said after swallowing an entire mouthful of ramen. "What do you think of Makoshima's sister?"

_Eh? Mako-chan?_

"Tiger mom," Mattsun put in immediately. "She's scary as hell, man. She could make a grown man piss himself just by glaring. I can see where Tadashi gets his glare from."

_Trust me, she could do much more than that,_ Oikawa thought wryly. The image of Naoko kneeing a six foot something gorilla of a third year right where the sun didn't shine swam to the front of his mind. He shuddered involuntarily.  _Glad I'm not that guy._

"She doesn't seem bad or anything," Kindaichi said. He scowled. "But she reminds me of Kageyama."

"Tobio-chan?" Oikawa said offhandedly. "How so?"

As Kindaichi began to list the reasons why, Iwaizumi nudged Oikawa.

"Speak of the devil," he murmured.

Oikawa turned _. Ah._ Just a few metres away, Kageyama, Sumire and a girl he didn't recognize were trying to weave their way through the massive crowd. Sumire and Kageyama were talking animatedly while the girl stood almost shyly to the side, as if she didn't know whether she was welcomed to speak with them or not. With his sharp eyes, he noticed just how red the girl got whenever she laid eyes on Kageyama for more than a few seconds.

_Oho, what's this?_ He smirked as he watched Sumire smack Kageyama on the arm, the other girl looking mildly scandalized.  _Is it perhaps... a love triangle?_ He nearly snorted at the idea.  _How juvenile._

"You look like you saw your grandma's saggy tits," Makki commented, grinning at Oikawa.

"M-Makki?!" Oikawa choked. "Th'fuck?!" he hissed at the strawberry blonde.

"HAH! Should have seen your face!"

"Guys," Iwaizumi deadpanned. "Seriously, shut up, we're gonna get kicked out."

"Because we were talking about Oikawa's grandma's saggy tits...?" Mattsun questioned, tilting his head to one side in mock misunderstanding.

Iwaizumi kicked him under the table, making the table wobble.

"You kick like a bitch," Mattsun goaded, no real malice in his voice. "Come at me, bro."

"Sorry, I was trying to avoid giving you any broken bones," Iwaizumi snarked. "Though I do know that's going to leave a bruise at the very least."

"You're evil."

"An evil little bitch," Oikawa and Makki said at the same time, much to the exasperation of everyone else (save for Mattsun, of course).

"We'll see who's the bitch when I screw all of you over," Iwaizumi growled, glowering at the three of them.

"I want more tempura," Kyotani demanded as he swallowed the last of his food. "Now."

"Don't be so rude to the upperclassmen," Yahaba admonished.

"Hn."

Kindaichi regarded them all wearily while Kunimi looked like he was beyond caring at this point.

Watari, knowing better, simply ate in silence, looking at all of them with fond exasperation.

By the time Oikawa turned back around in his chair, Sumire, Kageyama and the brown-haired girl were already gone. Shrugging, he turned back and rejoined his teammates and friends in conversation.

* * *

"So, you're still joining Naoko after school tomorrow, right?" Katsumi asked Leiko for the nth time, completely unruffled when her character on Jario Kart crashed right into a boulder.

"For the last time,  _yes_!" Leiko snapped irritably. "Will you stop asking? God, are you always this annoying, Kat?"

"Yes, but not always," was the disarmingly stupid response.

"... I give up. I'm so done with you. Get out of my house."

"Aww, but you love me!"

Leiko threw a hairbrush at the retreating Katsumi, who shrieked with laughter. "Hey!"

"Out, out, out! Or your parents will have my hide!"

"I only live down the street! They'll understand."

"I don't care!"

When Katsumi was gone and Jario Kart had been packed up, Leiko contented herself with yet another book, delving into a world of wizards, dragons and hobbits.

Five minutes later, she was still stuck on the same page, having not absorbed a single word of the brilliantly crafted text. Sighing, she placed the book face-down on her bed.

_Am I really going to rap again? Even after that fiasco of a Standoff?_ She frowned up at the ceiling.  _... And with Naoko no less. Could we really get along enough to be successful?_

* * *

Naoko pinged Oikawa one last text for the night, unable to wait until tomorrow morning.

_Oikawa,_ the text read,  _I've decided what I wanted. Busk with Leiko and I after school tomorrow._

She felt a little guilty for tearing him away from volleyball practice but, after seeing that—ahem—video Iwaizumi had sent her via text (a hilarious clip of Oikawa singing in the shower without the visuals), she was sure that she could make Leiko's rapping and Oikawa's singing work together.

It was only a matter of getting the two—no, scratch that,  _all three of them including her_ —to work together well enough to actually function efficiently.

For extra measure, she forwarded the clip that Iwaizumi had sent her, smiling to herself as she did so.

 


	26. Seaside Music

_Where words fail, music speaks._

—  _Hans Christian Andersen_

* * *

As Oikawa groaned for the nth time that day, Iwaizumi could barely suppress his own groan.

Taking a few moments to calm himself, he focused on the book in front of him rather than Oikawa's sighs.

Oikawa groaned again.

Iwaizumi slammed his book shut and glared at Oikawa. The pair were currently spending their lunch hour in the library, though Oikawa was only there because Iwaizumi was. The latter had come here to quietly read and analyse an English novel for his book report.

"What," Iwaizumi deadpanned at him, "do you want? Don't tell me you're bored already. You didn't even have to come here."

Oikawa shook his head and let out yet another groan. "S'not that," he said, burying his face into his uniform sleeves. "You'll never believe what Mako-chan wants me to do to repay her."

"Is this the part where I say 'what is it'?"

"She wants me to sing!" he exclaimed, earning a few dirty looks from some other students.

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting  _that_. "So what? Just do it."

"Iwa-chan." Oikawa stared him right in the eye. "She implied that it would be in front of a crowd. A CROWD!"

"Shh!" hushed the librarian, peeping around the corner of a bookshelf.

"Idiot," Iwaizumi scolded, tossing Oikawa a glare. "Keep your voice down or we'll get kicked out."

"Iwa-chaaaan," Oikawa whined, albeit more quietly. "You've got to help me!"

"How? Look, I get that it's nerve wracking to be singing in front of a crowd but that's your problem. How am I supposed to help you get over your fear?"

"This is all your fault," Oikawa suddenly accused, narrowing his eyes at him. "If it wasn't for you, Mako-chan wouldn't have ever asked me to sing!"

"What?!" Iwaizumi struggled to maintain his indoor voice. "Just how is it my fault that you're an idiot and spiked a ball in her face?"

Huffing, Oikawa fished his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it before showing Iwaizumi the damning video.

In the recording, Oikawa could be heard singing his heart and lungs out in a nearby shower to some random song he had heard playing on the Japanese radio one day.

"Ah." Iwaizumi grinned. "I'd forgotten about that..."

"Nothing to say now, do you? Admit it, Iwa-chan, this is at least partly your fault."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I didn't factor in her using it against you, so I'm sorry for that. But knowing Naoko-chan, she probably has a good reason for doing it." He thrummed his fingers on his book contemplatively. "Do you think you could refuse...? Obviously, you don't want to do it."

"Can't." Oikawa sighed miserably. "I already told her I would. And I'm not the only one involved. Apparently, Park Leiko is going to be working with me."

"Why did you tell her that you would?" Iwaizumi asked. "And Park Leiko?"

"I was sleep deprived!" Oikawa said defensively. "And, yeah, Park is going to be rapping while I sing apparently."

"Then what's Naoko doing?"

"Providing the music for us to sing along to. She returned her violin to the rental shop and she doesn't think that it would work for a violin to be in the background music anyway." Suddenly, Oikawa sat up in his seat, eyes wide. "Shit. Shitshitshitshit—"

"That's a lot of shits," Iwaizumi remarked. "What now...?"

Hastily, Oikawa got out of his seat and nearly tripped over his own feet. "I'm supposed to be meeting Mako-chan and Park on the roof!"

"Well, hurry up then! Lunch started not long ago so there's still time. Finally, I can read in peace..."

* * *

Even someone as thick-skinned as Naoko could feel the electricity in the air intensify as she and Leiko sat in deafening silence.

Neither of them saw any use in starting a conversation with the other so they contented themselves with the quietness.

 _Now would be a good time to discuss the song I have picked out for them,_ Naoko told herself. She had purposely picked a song that they would both definitely know the lyrics to. She knew that Oikawa knew, since it was the very same song that he had been singing in the shower. And she was willing to bet that Leiko knew the rap parts of the song as well.

"Got something to say?" Leiko drawled, breaking the silence. Her voice didn't exude the arrogance that it normally did. "You've got this far away look in your eyes..."

Naoko wasted no time beating around the bush. "You've heard of  _Beautiful Day_ , right? It's one of the biggest hits on radio this year."

Leiko nodded slowly, wondering what she was getting at. "Yeah. It was originally Korean but was translated into Japanese not long ago."

"Good. That's the song I chose for you to perform. You're going to be rapping while Oikawa does the main vocals."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second. Did you say  _Oikawa_? What the hell does—"

"Yoohoo, Mako-chan! Sorry I'm late, I lost track of time!"

"Speak of the devil," Leiko muttered.

Oikawa closed the door to the rooftop behind him, his roguish grin carrying a slightly sheepish quality to it.

He stopped in front of Naoko before squeezing comfortably between her and Leiko.

"Excuse me," Leiko said icily. "But I value personal space."

"Oikawa," Naoko said warningly. "If there's one thing I want to avoid, it's us fighting. So please move."

Oikawa stared at her disbelievingly. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly."

He gave a melodramatic sigh. "But it's so comfortable... I don't know if I want to move."

Her hand dug into his side and even Leiko couldn't reign in an amused snort.

"Mako-chan," he whined, rubbing the sore spot. "I swear, in some way you're even worse than Iwa-chan..." Finally moving away to a more appropriate place, he straightened. "So why did you call us up here?" He gave Leiko a short glance before turning back to Naoko.

"Lunchtime is perfect for you to practice together and... get in sync with each other a bit more. You're going to be performing around town this afternoon so you should prepare as much as you can."

"I never agreed to this," Leiko said flatly.

"Tough luck," Naoko said, crossing her arms. "We're only doing this so you can have enough money to fund for your sister's dog shelter. This is for you so drop the attitude."

The girls glared frostily at one another and Oikawa placed a hand on Naoko'a shoulder.

"Hypocrite," he said to her, no real malice in his voice. "What happened to avoiding fighting?"

"Sorry," Naoko said, a tick mark appearing on her cheek as she suppressed her anger.

Oikawa sighed and shook his head. "What am I gonna do with you, Mako-chan?"

"Can we start already?" Leiko said loudly.

Despite herself, Naoko felt a sense of appreciation toward the mousy-haired girl. This was Leiko's way of telling them that she was at least a little enthusiastic about this idea.

"Do you have the music with you?" Oikawa asked Naoko.

"No, but you can do it without the music, right?"

"No," Oikawa and Leiko said in unison, casting each other looks.

"... I'll borrow a guitar from the music room."

 _Mako-chan plays guitar too?_ Oikawa thought with surprise. Would this girl ever cease at being so good with instruments? Next, she'd be telling him that she played the harp, the oboe and the goddamn bassoon as well.

Naoko was back in five minutes with an acoustic guitar that the president of the music club had warned her not to break.

"How did you get them to give it to you?" Leiko queried, knowing that the music club were fiercely against people outside of their club using their instruments.

"They... have a certain respect for me now..." Naoko turned away and Oikawa immediately caught the meaning behind her words.  _Because I won the Standoff, garnered local fame, and the only thing you achieved was having a tantrum on the stage._

"Right." Judging from the bitterness in her voice, Leiko had clued in as well.

"I listened very carefully to the song last night," Naoko went on smoothly. "I'm sure I'll be able to replicate the music for now. Just don't expect it to be perfect."

Oikawa didn't realize how true her disclaimer rang until she started to play. It was obvious that she wasn't at all used to the instrument and she failed many times over before getting the tune somewhat right.

Even then, the playing couldn't even be called mediocre.

"You suck," Oikawa said matter-of-factly, seeing no reason to pull any punches. On the bright side, she wasn't a genius, which automatically made her more likeable in Oikawa's eyes. Or maybe it was just his prejudice against prodigies speaking.

"I concur," Leiko snickered.

"Just deal with it," Naoko said listlessly. "It's only temporary. I'll stop by at my house to grab the CD recording and the sound system."

"Sound system?!" Oikawa gaped. "Are you rich or something?"  _Strange. Mako-chan always gave me the impression that her family isn't exactly well off._

"No. My parents were with the music industry when they were still alive," Naoko explained easily. "They had some portable speakers sitting in the storeroom that were unused. There are microphones as well."

Leiko hummed quietly. "Parents suck."

Oikawa frowned. Now that was definitely out of line. Why would you even say that to someone whose parents had died?! He opened his mouth to object but Naoko answered first.

"Yeah," she said simply. She lowered her gaze. "They can suck." Clearing her throat, she said, "Let's not waste anymore time."

As they practiced, Oikawa's sharp eyes did not miss the way that the girls now interacted with one another. They were still rather aloof, yes, but... there seemed to be some sort of understanding reached between them

In the beginning, there were stumbled verses and missed cues. Leiko and Oikawa snapped at each other at least three times, leaving an equally temperamental Naoko to calm them down.

Eventually, their voices reached a point of rapport, perfectly harmonizing.

Naoko's fingers were inexperienced when it came to the guitar but she was learning quickly.

In the cold afternoon, their voices were a bold contrast.

_"I'll be back. In your wide gaping mouth I'll be back."_

_"Erase the past pains, yeah..."_

For three people who seemed like they couldn't stand each other (well, two of them couldn't stand one of them and that one person couldn't really stand the others), they performed relatively efficiently and cooperatively.

* * *

_"Parents suck," Tadashi said to Naoko one day as they licked icy pops under the sun._

_"H-huh?" Naoko blinked at him curiously, trying to ignore the ugly bruises on his arms. She knew that her big brother was quite frequently involved in playground fights, though she didn't know what for._

_Her brother was a wild, unbroken spirit, despite being only eight years old. Naoko had turned five not too long ago and was most definitely in awe of her big brother, who was almost as tall as her mother._

_"Why would you say that, Tadashi-nii?" Naoko squeaked, her icy pop dripping all over He front of her shirt._

_"Because they're adults," Tadashi said huffily, throwing the stick of his finished icy pop on the ground. "Naachan, all an adult is good for is covering up their own ass."_

_Naoko's ears heated up. "Nii-san, you said a naughty word!"_

_He grinned at her, a spark of mischief in his eyes. "So? Nobody's around."_

_"I guess... So what did you do at school today?"_

_"Ehh... this kid tried to pick a fight with me... Iwaizumi or something..."_

_The name went through one ear and out the other for Naoko. "Oh. Why? He sounds mean."_

_"Umm... I don't know why." He scowled at the horizon. "It's none of your business, Naachan."_

_"Oh, okay. Mommy didn't hit you again, did she?"_

_"No, not today."_

_"That's good. I don't like it when she hurts you."_

_Tadashi gave her an uncomfortable stare before saying, "Can I hug you?"_

_"Sure!" Naoko beamed up at him. She always loved it when her older brother showered her with kisses and hugs. It was the best feeling in the whole wide world._

_Tadashi's long, lanky arms wrapped around his sister's chubby child's body, clutching the sleeves of her shirt and bringing her close to him. It was summer and about thirty degrees but neither cared._

_"Naachan, you won't hate me, will you?" Tadashi asked, his voice muffled by the fabric of her shirt. "Even though kaa-san does."_

_"H-huh? No. Why would I?" She drew back and looked up at him in confusion. "I'll never hate you! That's so stupid."_

_"Good." Tadashi gave a sigh of relief. "It just... makes me happy to hear that there's someone out there who won't leave me."_

_"What about your friends at school?"_

_He shifted, unable to meet her gaze. "I like you better."_

_"Oh! Yay!"_

_"Please don't leave me, Naachan," he pleaded suddenly._

_Naoko stopped whooping in joy. "Okay. Sumire-chan won't leave you either."_

_"Silly," he scoffed. "She's only a little baby. What can she do?"_

_"Oh, oops. But she'll grow older, right? Everyone does."_

_"Uh huh. Oh, by the way, you'll be starting school soon. Avoid this kid called Oikawa, okay? And another kid called Iwaizumi."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because we're... not on good terms," Tadashi explained, his voice strained._

_"I probably won't remember them..."_

_"Whatever. It's probably better if you don't. Just stick with the kids your own age. And don't talk to me at school either. I want you to make your own friends."_

_So Naoko nodded and let the names fade into the depths of her child's mind._

* * *

**LINE: OIKAWA'S FANS**

[Matsukawa]: god I hate the new group name

[Matsukawa]: makes me feel oddly feminine like wtf

[Iwaizumi]: Oikawa won't be coming to practice today, just thought I'd let you all know

[Hanamaki]: he sick or something?

[Iwaizumi]: he just has something to do

[Iwaizumi]: practice will go on like normal

[Matsukawa]: kk captain

[Hanamaki]: mkaayy

[Yahaba]: did anyone here the singing from the rooftop this afternoon? It sounded like Oikawa

[Iwaizumi]: yeah, it was Oikawa actually

[Iwaizumi]: it's a long story

[Kindaichi]: how is everyone pinging texts aren't you all in class right now

[Hanamaki]: Kindaichi said as he bothered to open up LINE and went through the trouble of texting under the table.

[Kindaichi]: ...

[Kindaichi]: makki

[Matsukawa]: no he is not a mind reader

[Matsukawa]: or outside your window

[Kindaichi] ... k

* * *

The sound system was not as impressive as Oikawa first anticipated. He watched as Naoko hauled a red wagon filled with the sound equipment, trailing behind him and Leiko a little. He had offered to help but she had refused.

Currently, he, Leiko and Naoko were making their way down to the docks, a place where tourists and locals alike occupied, with the former buying a shit ton of souvenirs from the dockside markets run by little old ladies and potbellied men.

"Alright, this is a good spot," Naoko declared, stopping. She wore her hair up in a pony tail, her bangs messily framing her face. She had chosen to forego a jacket and was instead dressed in a tee and shorts, which she had picked up at her house along with the sound system.

"You sure?" Leiko peered over the railing, where black waters sucked the sand from the shore.

"Positive," Naoko affirmed. "It's a place where we can appeal to a multitude of people."

As Naoko began the sound system, Oikawa and Leiko, begrudgingly, began to do some of their own practice, quietly singing and rapping  _Beautiful Day_  to themselves.

 _"Well, I'll be! You hear that, mate? They've got a pretty pair of pipes, I tell ya."_ An overweight man with sandy blonde hair was gesturing to Leiko and Oikawa, his moustache twitching as he spoke in English to his friend.

"Oya?" Oikawa docked an eyebrow at the foreign men. "Tourists? Say, Park-chan, why don't we sing a little louder?"

"No," the girl denied immediately, wringing her hands. "Let's wait for Naoko to set things up first."

Realization struck Oikawa and he smirked at her. "You're nervous."

Wordlessly, Leiko turned her back to him.

"You are!" Oikawa said, almost gleefully. "Cat got your tongue, Park-chan?"

"No," she said heatedly. "In fact, I just want to get this over and done with."

"Uh huh..." He gave her a sly grin. "Don't be scared, Park-chan. Just think of something even more terrifying than this and you'll get over it."

She shot him a sour look. "I don't want to think of something worse."

Oikawa shook his head. "So stubborn. You and Mako-chan are more alike than you think you are. Honestly, why do I even bother?"

"Yeah, sure... I'm curious though. How exactly did she rope you into this."

His face fell and Leiko knew that she had struck gold. She sneered at him and he glared back, visibly annoyed.

"I'm doing it out of the kindness of my heart," he told her.

"No, seriously, how?"

"I just told you."

"You're a goddamn liar."

"And you're an annoying bitch, has anyone ever told you that?" Oikawa snapped irritably. It was never good to be rude to a girl but  _by_   _god_ , she could be annoying as hell. And she hardly seemed to be trying.

"A few times," she said coolly, unruffled.

"Then it probably means something."

"Guys," Naoko interrupted, having finished setting up everything. "It's time. Look, we've already gathered a crowd."

Indeed they had. A sizeable amount of people were glancing curiously in their direction or milling about the area, surely waiting for a show to begin.

"Hey," one girl said, her large earrings jingling. "Isn't that Makoshima Naoko? The winner of the Sendai Standoff?"

"Oh my gosh, you're right," her friend gushed, clutching her shopping bag to her side. "She looked a lot taller in the monthly music magazines though... I wouldn't have recognized her if you hadn't said anything."

"Who are the other two?" a man was saying. "The other girl looks pretty plain... but the guy is good looking."

"Good looking or plain, what does it matter?" A mother shook her head. "I'm here for a performance."

Ignoring all the commentary (though Oikawa basked at the "good looking" remark), the trio positioned themselves appropriately, Oikawa and Leiko each having their own microphones.

Naoko gave them a nod before moving to the side to guard the open money box.

The music started.

And as Leiko begun her rap, Naoko smiled, her hair whipping about from the autumn breeze.

* * *

"This is so dumb," Kageyama said flatly as Sumire held the egg in a cloth, humming as she hustled around the kitchen at the Kageyama residence.

"Hey," she said as she put down the egg for a moment before picking it back up again. "Too bad but part of the assignment is to cook something nutritious for your child, which  _I_  am doing for you. All you're doing is recording yourself put the food on the plate and 'feed' the child."

"I don't care, this is still stupid."

She gave him a look of fond exasperation. "Tobio-kun..." She sighed. "Just think about your grade that's at stake here."

Honestly, Kageyama was more concerned about Honda's reaction to this than anything else. What if he screwed up with her perfect grades somehow?

"Just add a bit of egg..." She paused. "Wait, would that be cannabalism?"

As she pondered, Kageyama noticed a pan that was piled on top of some woks slip down from the top of the fridge, where his mother kept her cookware.

Wihout warning, it completely detached from the other pans and woks. Sumire, completely oblivious to what was happening, only hummed as she flipped the foodstuff in the pan she was currently using.

"MOVE, DUMBASS!" Kageyama shouted, reaching for her.

"Huh?!"

Before he even knew what he was doing, he had leaped across the distance between them and shoved her against the kitchen counter. The pan cluttered on to the floor harmlessly just as the egg flew out of Sumire's hand.

They could only watch helplessly as the egg soared through the air...

And splattered onto the cold, hard tiles.

All was silent—

"GWAAHHH!"

"DUMBASS! SUMIRE DUMBASS!"

* * *

**_A/N: Do my eyes deceive me or have we hit 100k?_ **

 

**_The song Oikawa and Leiko are doing is Beautiful Day by Hyung Seok and Deok Hwa from the webcomics Lookism (which I rate 11/10, you should read it). The song is in Korean but let's just pretend it's been translated into Japanese._ **


	27. Half

_The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur._

—  _Yotam Ottolenghi_

* * *

"Oh my  _god_ ," Sumire groaned as she wiped up the mess of raw egg contents on the floor with a cloth. " _Whyy..._!"

Sighing in frustration, Kageyama helped her up from her squatting position by effortlessly grabbing the collar of her uniform blouse. "What a clumsy dumbass," he scolded. "Be more careful next time!"

She glared at him, looking tempted to slap him across the face with the egg-stained rag. "Ex _cuse_ me? You're the one who shoved me against the kitchen counter like there was no tomorrow!" Well, it hadn't been a  _bad_ experience. In fact, she had rather enjoyed it but she certainly wasn't going to tell Kageyama that. The feeling of his warm body pressed against her—

"Not my fault your face tends to attract dangerous things," he said snidely. "You are such a fucking dolt, it's not even funny!"

"Shut up! You asked for my help cooking for this darn thing so don't put all the blame on me! Maybe you should reconsider where you put your cookware next time if it falls like that."

"RUNT! TWIG! THIS IS MY MOTHER'S STUFF!"

"THEN TAKE SOME INITIATIVE AND HELP HER, MAMA'S BOY!" She turned his back to him to rinse off the soppy egg from the dishcloth. Sumire yelped in surprise when he grabbed her by the shirt collar and looked her dead in the eye. At the intensity of his stare, sweat began to accumulate on the nape of her neck.

"Don't call me that," he said, his voice soft and dangerous.

His forehead was practically pressed against hers and she swallowed.

"S-sorry..." she muttered just as the tip of her nose touched his.

At that, Kageyama retracted his death grip and leaned back on the refrigerator, his face still contorted into a harsh glare. But she was relieved that most of his vexes were now likely directed more to the actual breaking of the egg than anything else.

"It was just an egg," he muttered, sounding like he was trying to convince himself rather than Sumire. He looked up at her, his eyes noticeably warmer. He muttered something totally incoherent and she tilted her head to one side.

"Sorry, what? I didn't catch that."

"S-sorry..."

"Huh?"

"I said, sorry!" he spat at her, his face flushing slightly. "Are you deaf as well?!"

She stared at him in disbelief. "What you said before sounded nothing like anything even remotely close to  _sorry_!" she protested, secretly glad that Kageyama was no longer so angry at her.

"You're just deaf!" he mocked, a tick mark appearing on his cheek. "I guess twigs don't have ears after all!"

"Shut up, Bakageyama!"

Out of irritation, he suddenly threw a white powder at Sumire, which he had produced from a nearby bag of flour.

Spluttering, Sumire wiped the substance from her eyes. "Did you just... throw  _flour_ at me?" Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed an egg that was randomly sitting on the counter at Kageyama. The egg splattered all over his shirt and he gawked at the stain.

Sumire snickered.

And Kageyama retaliated by throwing more powder at her, looking royally pissed (with just a hint of excitement and challenge in his eyes).

Sumire coughed and tried to avoid sucking the powder up her nose. "Oh, you're going to pay for that," she choked out, feeling the counter for more eggs. She intended to leave one as a replacement for the egg that they had broken, sincerely hoping that the teachers at Karasuno would not notice the substitution. Hell, it was just an egg so why would they? Unless they had some kind of magical... egg-detecting powers.

"Bring it on, twig."

Suddenly, a burning smell filled the air.

"Hey, do you smell that?" Sumire voiced just as she was about to hurl another egg at him. His white-stained hands were outstretched in front of him, having gotten into the stance to try and catch the egg she had been about to throw.

He sniffed once, then twice. Obviously, some of the flour had flew up his nose as well. "Wait, yeah..." His eyes widened before he whipped his head around to look at the burning mass of black on the pan on the stove. "FUCK, YOU BURNED IT!"

"GWAAHH!" Sumire flailed around the kitchen. "WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMETHING'S BURNING AGAIN?!"

"PUT WATER ON IT!" Kageyama urged, looking equally stressed.

"OKAY!" She grabbed a bucket of dishwater and tossed it onto the burning omelette just as she realized just how wrong this solution what. "SHIT—"

The fire flared seemingly a metre in the air.

"THE HELL?!"

"NEVER PUT WATER ON GREASE FIRES!" Sumire felt like she could slap herself if there wasn't currently a fire burning in the Kageyama residence. If Kageyama lost his house because of her stupidity, she would never forgive herself.

Eventually, Sumire found a lid for the pan and slammed it on top of the huge fire, starving it of oxygen. The intensity of the heat were killing were hands but she was too hyped up on adrenaline to even notice.

She didn't even register it when Kageyama practically shoved toward the sink and ran water on her burnt hands.

Sumire hissed in pain as the adrenaline rush finally decided to take a hike.

Quietly, she allowed Kageyama to bathe her hands, her own arms shaking too much.

"Why don't we put water on grease fires?" Kageyama asked way too casually.

_What is he...?_ Her heart calmed a bit when she realized what he was trying to do. He was trying to make her talk. To reduce the shock and maybe, as an added bonus, make her momentarily forget about the burning pain on her hands.

"Umm..." She fumbled over her words. "B-because oil burns at much, much higher temperatures than water boils. And oil floats on top of water. S-so, um, when you throw water onto a grease fire, the water... uh... sinks below the oil and is flash-boiled to steam by the intense heat, which blows the oil out like a small explosion... This causes the oil to break into thousands of tiny droplets. All those droplets have a lot more surface area than the original pool of oil, allowing the oil to mix with oxygen at a greatly-increased rate, which speeds up the combustion of the oil so much that it transitions from 'on fire' to 'exploding'. So the end result of throwing water on oil is a giant fireball of flaming oil droplets that will probably set your house on fire," she concluded lamely. "We were so lucky... that the worst thing that happened was a scorch mark on the roof."

Kageyama glanced upward distractedly. "Well, shit. Kaa-san is going to murder me."

Sumire laughed weakly at his poor attempt at making light of the situation. Nevertheless, she was grateful for it. Without him, god knows what she would have done. Despite his awkwardly abrasive nature, he brought her a sort of familiar calmness. She didn't know how it had happened but, suddenly, Kageyama was her rock. The one she could rely on.

Of course, the gigantic boulder of reliability would always be Naoko but Kageyama was a close second.

"You're too smart for your own good," Kageyama said.

"Oh?" she mused. "What happened to dumbass?"

"I don't care how smart you are," he growled. "You're still a dumbass."

"Isn't that contradicting though?"

"If you don't shut up I'll scratch your burn!" he threatened with a scowl.

Squeaking at the deadly promise, she nodded and clamped her mouth shut almost comically, allowing Kageyama to rinse her hands in peace. The pain was still prominent but wasn't as sharp as it had been before.

"There should be some burn gel somewhere," Kageyama said to himself as he turned off the tap and went into another room.

Sumire continued to hold her hands beneath the running ice-cold water, panting slightly as her injuries were struck with occasional agonizing pangs.

Thankfully, Kageyama returned not long later, carrying a tube of soothing gel with him. He turned off the tap, dried off her hands with surprisingly gentle efficiency, and then applied the ointment on her red palms.

The medicine brought instant but only momentary relief. As soon as her wounds felt like they had miraculously healed, the fire-hot pain began to flare again.

"Don't touch!" he yelled at her when dabbed at a not so painful spot with her pinky finger. "You dumb twig!" For extra measure, he flicked her forehead, causing her to cry out. "What a fucking dumbass..."

"Nice to know that you care, Tobio," she said dryly, dropping the usual honorific.

* * *

"Thank you!" Oikawa smiled and waved to the crowd, the massive amount of teenage girls in the audience practically eating out of his hand.

He exuded just the right amount of his boyish charm, causing Leiko to roll her eyes and Naoko to shake her head, slightly exasperated.

The ladies swooned and money was practically raining into the collection box, Naoko watching with slight awe and envy at the sheer amount people were giving away.

It had only been one afternoon and they looked to be filthy rich.

At last, the show was over and they packed their things, Oikawa and Leiko helped Naoko haul the sound system onto her red wagon.

"You did well," Naoko praised Oikawa. Leiko was currently disassembling the portable microphones.

"Aw, thanks Mako-chan~ I did it all for you, you know." He sighed melodramatically. "If I didn't like you so much, I wouldn't have agreed."

At that, Naoko gave him a strange look. Seeing that Leiko was still busying herself with the microphones (she looked to be growing increasingly frustrated that one of them was jamming), Naoko took the opportunity to ask, "Hey, Oikawa?"

"Hm?" He gave her an amiable look. "Yeah?"

The brunet looked so happy and unsuspecting that Naoko almost felt guilty for asking, "Are we friends?" He had said so before that they were. But...  _I just need to know._

He looked almost offended at her query. "What kind of question is that, Mako-chan?" He ruffled her hair and she instantly smoothed it back down. A hurt expression entered his eyes. "You didn't believe me before?"

"... No," she admitted quietly.

He sighed. "What can I do to make you trust me?" Oikawa almost sounded... guilty. Like he was trying to make it up to her for something.

"I don't know," she replied, her gaze fixed on the blue and pink horizon. It being closer to winter, the days were now shorter. "I'm... I'm just not sure."

"I think I know what to do," he suddenly declared, a spark of mischief lighting up his entire face.

As if a switch had been flipped, Naoko was instantly on guard.  _What is he going to do?_

Oikawa opened his arms. Then he slowly moved toward her, knowing that any fast, sudden movement would only alarm her and probably earn himself a punch in the solar plexus.

Naoko found her voice again just as Oikawa was inches away from her. "What... What are you doing—"

Oikawa pressed her body against hers, his skin growing heated as her soft breasts squished against his muscular abdomen.

Shamelessly, he smiled to himself, knowing that Naoko couldn't see it.  _She looks flat as a board... but they're so luscious!_

God, they were practically soft, pillowy marshmallows. Sweet, springy and—

He couldn't help but be surprised when Naoko didn't immediately push him off. Instead, she seemed to be doing the opposite. When he had embraced her, she had stiffened, uncertain. But now she was relaxing her muscles, standing absolutely still as she allowed herself to be a recipient of one of his warm hugs.

_She's cold,_  Oikawa realized, feeling her arms shaking ever so slightly. Well, that wasn't exactly a shock. She was hardly dressed for the sudden breeze that had picked up halfway through their performance.

A warm feeling bloomed in his chest as he felt her press her face against him.

It had only been seconds but it felt like an eternity to Oikawa. Eventually, Naoko pulled away and gave him a grateful look.

"Thank you," she said in a monotone. "You're very warm."  _He... hugged me? Why? Is this his way of showing that... we're friends? Friends hug each other, right?_

She was about to drag the wagon away but Oikawa stopped her.

"Wait," he said, removing his uniform jacket. With an amused air about her, Leiko observed silently, having finally unjammed the microphone. "Here." Oikawa placed the jacket along Naoko's sleeved shoulders. He smiled at her, his eyes slanting upward ever so slightly in sincerity.

Naoko stared at her now double-clothed shoulders. "... Thank you," she said again, quietly. What else could she say? Wordlessly, she donned the jacket, feeling warmer as the huge arm-length sleeve covered her previously exposed arms. The ends of the sleeves dragged past her hand but she managed to make do with it by rolling said ends up.

"Pfft!" Oikawa could barely contain a snigger. "You look my jacket's eating you."

She gave him a wry look. "Shut up, dumb chihuahua."

"Ah, anything for you, oyster-chan," he teased, sidling beside her. "Except milk bread. Don't ask me to share or give it up, you hear me?"

"You talk as if we're dating."

Oikawa gave her a sidelong glance. "Do you want to?"

She hesitated.

Oikawa nearly choked on his own saliva. Because  _my god, did this mean she was considering her answer and would also consider the possibility of dating him_ —

"Did you pack the money?" Leiko suddenly appeared beside them and Oikawa's eye twitched as Naoko diverted her attention from him.

The ravenette patted a closed black box inside the wagon. "It's here," she informed the bespectacled girl, who nodded. "Give this to your sister."

"I will," Leiko promised, sounding genuine for the first time. "Thank... thank you."

Naoko gave her a short nod before pulling the wagon away. Oikawa caught up to her, cursing Leiko inwardly for her untimely interruption. Leiko, thankfully, chose to linger behind them, counting the money they had collected as she walked while skilfully dodging pedestrians.

"You never answered my question," Oikawa said casually.

She stopped in her tracks, turning to him. "Oikawa," she said, her face a solemn mask. "I'm not going to date you."

_Oh_.

He hoped he didn't look  _too_  crestfallen.

"But..." Naoko hesitated, her cheeks splashed with a faint rosy tint. From the cold or otherwise, he didn't know. He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I.. want to be... your... f-friend..."

Oikawa smiled ruefully. It was almost adorable how she couldn't even say "friend" without stumbling over herself, which was quite an unusual thing to associate with the normally calm Naoko.

But hey, he was one of the rare few that could ruffle her feathers in a non-violent way. Surely, that counted for  _something_ , right?

"I'm glad," he told her, inching just a bit closer to her as they walked. "You're very interesting, Mako-chan." She stopped walking and he pulled ahead of her. Then he stopped to, turning his head back. "I'm surprised you have so little friends."

"Don't be surprised," she said abruptly. They were side by side once again. "You and Iwaizumi are the only ones I consider... friends."

"Eh? Iwa-chan too?" He immediately pounced, pouting at her. "Whyyy, Mako-chan? I thought I was the only one for you!"

She shot him a faintly amused glance.

"Which one of us do you like more?" he pressed.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Why  _wouldn't_  I want to know?" he asked in return.

And that wicked smile—the one that he hasn't seen this she sabotaged Emiko—was back on her face. "Because you might not like the answer."

She made a good point, Oikawa supposed, shaking his head. "I don't care. Tell me, oyster-chan."

"Quit yapping, dumb chihuahua."

"Oyster-chaaaan. Oyster-chaaaan." Still no response. He smirked. "Oyster-chaaaaaan—"

"Oh for goodness sake," Naoko cut him off. "Don't you ever stop talking? I'd like your mouth a lot more if you just kept it shut."

_Ah! Perfect opening!_ Oikawa thought wickedly. "Oh, really?" he purred into her ear. "I think I could change your mind about that." He couldn't help it, she was just so fun to tease!

She was smol, irritated, and her cheeks looked fun to pinch. Who didn't love that kind of combination?! She had just the right amount of moe!

By the way she gripped the wagon handle even tighter, he knew that he had gotten her flustered at the prospect of... well,  _that_.

Oikawa looked at her expectantly.

And she elbowed him in the gut.

"Ooft!" He glared at her through watery eyes. "What was that for, oyster-chan?! So mean, just like Iwa-chan..."

She scoffed, shooting him a half-amused and half-exasperated look. As if she couldn't completely figure him out. Something which she  _had_  to be frustrated at. "You know perfectly well what!" she huffed. "If you're trying to come on to me, at least be more subtle."

Oikawa didn't bother to reign in a laugh at her expense. Oh, this was just  _precious_. "Subtle? Mako-chan, you wouldn't know subtle even if it danced naked in front of you and slapped you in the face." The girl was probably the most unsubtle (was that a word?) person he knew, aside from the uncooperative Kyotani. She could be so out of touch with reality at times and things often flew over her head. Naoko was a plain speaker and tackled most social situations like a tank. Yes, she could display her conniving and cunning nature at times but  _still_! It didn't mean she was any less unsubtle.

"What?" She blinked at him, bewildered.

"What did I tell you?" Oikawa resisted the urge to put an arm around her, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate the gesture very much. "Ne, Mako-chan?"

"... Yes?"

"Don't change yourself. Not unless you really want to," he said simply, letting her pull ahead of him a little as he stopped momentarily to admire the sunset. "I like you the way you are."

Naoko smiled to herself, knowing that Oikawa couldn't see it. "... Okay."

* * *

Leiko was nearly floored by the amount of money that their combined efforts had managed to earn them.

According to Yoko, Katsumi had dropped by with the money from the bake sale as well as the money from Midori's newly established dog-walking service.

Yoko was practically in tears as she counted the money. Leiko didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that they were already close to the halfway mark of their goal of half a million yen. And it had just been one afternoon! Obviously, Katsumi's family were made up of very talented pastry chefs. And Midori had always had a penchant for animals, so it was a win-win.

"This..." Yoko's lip trembled. "... Nearly two hundred thousand."

Holy fucking shit.

Leiko knew it was a lot but actually hearing some numbers... it was surreal. How was it even possible?

"The majority came from your busking," Yoko elaborated softly, her voice wavering. All of a sudden, she got out of her seat and threw herself at Leiko, hugging her tightly.

Stiffly, Leiko reciprocated her embrace, becoming increasingly comforted by the circles Yoko was rubbing on her back.

"Thank you," Yoko whispered in her ear. Leiko felt her tears touch her skin.

Leiko didn't respond.

Sure, she had rapped with Oikawa, but Naoko was the real mastermind at work here. It was she that had brought them all together despite their differences.

Leiko swallowed her pride.

_I'll thank her tomorrow._

* * *

"Uh huh..." Midori's legs, dangling off the side of her bed, were swinging back and forth as she discussed things with her client. "Whoa, six puppies?!" She cleared her throat in embarrassment, realizing that she probably wasn't being very professional.

_"Yes, six,"_ the woman on the other end confirmed, sounding like she hadn't had an afternoon to herself in ages.  _"Including the mother, my beautiful Ling-Ling, there will be seven dogs."_

Midori quickly did the math in her head.  _Holy! From the rate I'm charging, if I take this job, the pay will be tremendous!_ "So, Yoshida-san, I am only available after school," she explained to the woman. "I'll come over immediately, maybe at three fifteen?" It meant that she would have to miss out on club activities but this was going to be so worth it!

_"That would be wonderful!"_ Yoshida answered.  _"I really do need some time to myself... I haven't seen my friends at the Housewives Volleyball Club in ages! Is it fine if I relieve you at six in the evening?"_

"Take all the time you need, Yoshida-san!" Midori chirped, knowing that Yoshida knew that she charged extra if the time of care took over two hours. Well, she was a dog-walking service but caring for a litter of puppies and their mother would fit her just fine as well.

_"Oh, thank you! You have no idea what's this means to me! Why, ever since Ling-Ling gave birth_ — _I didn't even know she was pregnant, mind you_ — _the place has been absolutely hectic. I'm so glad you can do it. Ling-Ling doesn't bite either, so don't worry! The pups are getting quite big so she isn't as fierce and protective as she was when they were just born. Ling-Ling has always been friendly toward humans."_

"Okie dokie then!"  _I'll have to get Naoko to help. Ayame and Katsumi are busy with another bake sale tomorrow so they're out of the question. I'm not sure about Leiko and Naoko said she was helping. I know she doesn't really like the club activities that much either._

Midori decided just as Yoshida hung up after a long string of many thanks.  _I'll ask Naoko tomorrow!_

* * *

**_A/N:_ ** **_Sumire's explanation for grease fires was taken from a Reddit answer. Credit goes to the person who typed it up and all that._ **

 


	28. Face Value

_If we took Chaucer's writings at face value, we'd have to conclude he was a complete drip._

—  _John Hutton_

* * *

It was on Thursday morning that Oikawa found himself sorely wishing that Iwaizumi was with him to support him through this ordeal. But, without his best friend's presence, all he could do was grin and suffer in silence as a seemingly infinite number of fangirls cornered him with a rabid look in their eyes.

It was nice to be loved, but having your very own fan club could get ridiculously tedious at times.

"Kyaaah, Oikawa-san!"

"Oikawa-san, I saw the video!"

"You were soooo cool!"

"That's my favorite song! Did you know that?!"

"Oikawa-san, when can we see you play in the Spring Tournament? Me and my friends devised a cheer for the volleyball team! Let me sing it to you!  _O-I-K-A-W-A_ —"

"SIGN MY FACE, OIKAWA-SAN!"

"Are you going to make a debut anytime soon, Oikawa-san?"

"Debut? Video?" Oikawa echoed, sounding confused.  _Don't tell me Iwa-chan_ —

"Here, look!" One of his fans shoved her phone in his face, where a recording of him and Leiko performing was playing. The person who had recorded the performance obviously had done so with a device that was too small to capture the entire group. Naoko, who had religiously guarded their money box and politely thanked the generous audience, had been cut out from the video.

"Interesting," Oikawa mused, taking a good look at the video. "Who did you get it from?" He smiled at her. "You must be very clever to get a hold of it."

The girl blushed at his compliment. "I-I got it from Spacebook," she informed him, fingering her hair. "It's gone viral so it wasn't really that hard to come across..."

"Ah, I see. Thank you for telling me!"

"Eep! You're welcome, Oikawa-sama!"

 _So I'm a god now...?_ Oikawa thought with wry amusement as he reveled in causing such disturbance.

Eventually, the bell rang and everyone was forced to go to class (much to Oikawa's relief). On the way to his classroom, he ran into Iwaizumi.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, miffed. "I've been texting you all morning." He pouted at Iwaizumi. "Doesn't take that long to reply, you know. Iwa-chan is so mean to me..."

"Did you forget that I have that book report due soon?" Iwaizumi countered.

"Yeah, yeah..." Oikawa shot him a cheeky grin. "What's the point of trying with those brains of yours?"

Iwaizumi slapped him across the back of the head with his book, scowling. "Bastard."

Whining, Oikawa rubbed the spot where Iwaizumi had hit him, glaring at him through tearful eyes. "So mean! First you leave me to the wolves and then this."

"Wolves?" Iwaizumi parroted, bewildered.

"Geehh... Geez, Iwa-chan, did you read a single one of my messages?"

"No."

"... Saw that coming."

Iwaizumi snorted in amusement.

Through a half-yawn, Oikawa said, "The gym is getting refurnished today, right?"  _Which means no volleyball practice until the end of the week,_ he thought rather depressingly. Of all the times the school had to choose to do a renovation, it had to be now, didn't it? The Spring Tournament was right around the corner. Well, it was in about four to five months, give or take, but—Oikawa knew from experience—that time would be up in no time.

After their performance in the Interhigh—one that, despite losing, Oikawa was damn proud of—Aobajosai were lucky (see: talented) enough to be automatically seeded into the Spring Tournament, meaning that they wouldn't have to fight for qualification this time around.

"Yeah," Iwaizumi said, obviously not very pleased with the school's decision. "We were supposed to be having a practice match with some alumni today but now it's obviously not going to happen."

"Ahh," Oikawa sighed. "Oh, well. Might as well hang out after school then." He stopped short. "Is that Mako-chan?"

Indeed it was. The girl was carrying a navy blue cloth which had something inside it—probably a bento. Without even noticing Oikawa and Iwaizumi approaching her, she entered the former's classroom.

"I'll see you later," Iwaizumi said in lieu of farewell.

Oikawa waved to him briefly before going into his classroom. All of his classmate's eyes were fixed on Naoko as she stood in front of Tadashi and placed the wrapped bento on his desk.

Fortunately, none of the looks she was receiving were particularly hostile; just curious and confused.

"Naachan," Tadashi was saying, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. "You didn't have to do this..."

"Why not?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "You forgot your lunch at home, nii-san. I don't want you to go hungry. You're a growing boy, Tadashi, you need your daily nutrients."

Tadashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Okay..."

 _She's just like a mother,_ he observed,  _when it comes to the White Monster._ He couldn't help but snigger to himself when he saw the look on Tadashi's face. Poor guy! What kind of teenage boy  _didn't_ feel slightly ashamed and judged whenever his mother (or sister, in Tadashi's case) stormed into his classroom just to give him lunch? For shame!

"Mako-chan," Oikawa said lightly, inadvertently drawing extra attention to himself.

"Oikawa," Naoko said by way of greeting. She turned back to Tadashi. "I'll see you after school."

With that, she was gone, disappearing outside the room.

The chatter resumed and Oikawa took his seat behind Tadashi, ignoring the burning stares of the various fangirls that were lucky enough to share class with him.

"She cares a lot for you," Oikawa remarked offhandedly, noticing Tadashi's dismayed expression.

The blonde boy nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise. "O-oh! G-good m-morning Oikawa-kun...!"

"Morning." Oikawa yawned.  _He can't even get a coherent sentence out. Why?_

"That was so embarrassing," Tadashi murmured to him. "I love Naachan but..." He clutched his head in shamed. "Argh!"

"Ah, Dashi-chan, that's just Mako-chan for you," Oikawa offered, feeling a bit affronted on Naoko's behalf. The girl worked herself to the bone to support him and this was how he repaid her? Sure, he understood that it might have been embarrassing for him, but still.

 _I wonder if he treated his own mother that way,_ Oikawa wondered, grimacing slightly. "You know, Dashi-chan, I think you should appreciate Mako-chan more," he said rather disarmingly.

Tadashi, who was looking for a sympathetic ear, blinked in surprise. "Oikawa-kun—"

"Hear me out," Oikawa interrupted. He was going off at a bit of a tangent here but who cared? "Who cooks for you every day? Who earns the money to raise a family of three?"  _Who fucking raises you again?_ he added silently, hoping that his irritated mood wasn't showing too much.

As Oikawa expected, Tadashi didn't answer. Guilt immediately filled his eyes and he seemed to grow paler than he normally was.

"She sits alone."

Oikawa definitely wasn't expecting him to say  _that._ He had had an inkling for some time that the girl sat by herself on the roof every day during lunch. But it was just that—an inkling.

 _It used to be her and Tadashi._  The cogs in Oikawa's brains continued to turn as he connected the dots.  _Until he started sitting with us at the cafeteria or practicing volleyball. With us as well._ The volleyball team had unfairly stolen Tadashi from Naoko.

 _She doesn't mind,_ a voice in his head argued.  _She's happy that Tadashi is playing volleyball._

Maybe.

But leaving herself out to dry...

That was inexcusable.

Honestly, he was surprised that he hadn't addressed this issue until now.

But, then again, they weren't  _really_ friends before, even if he had said that they were.

Her only purpose back when they first met was to be a tool for Oikawa to wield against Tadashi.

Oikawa frowned to himself, ignoring the questioning look that Tadashi was giving him. Somewhere along the way, that had changed. Naoko and he... they were  _friends_ now.

"What are you going to do about that?" Oikawa asked carefully, gauging the blonde boy's response.

"Umm... I don't know," Tadashi replied lamely, irking Oikawa even more.

 _She's your sister. How could you not know, you gutless coward_ —

"I'm going to sit with her then," he declared, surprising lighting up Tadashi's eyes, even his blind one.  _Since_ someone  _isn't being a good brother._ Oikawa could barely rein in a laugh at Tadashi's expense. Really, this...  _person_ was even more pathetic than Oikawa first thought.

"R-really?!" Now Oikawa was confused. Tadashi looked absolutely overjoyed.

 _... I don't get it._ He narrowed his eyes at the White Monster.  _What's his deal?_

"It'll be just like old times!" Tadashi grinned. "Right, Oikawa-kun?!"

 _Right,_ Oikawa thought listlessly. Outwardly, he only smiled and nodded.

Why did he get the feeling that his fangirls were just practice on how to deal with one Makoshima Tadashi?

* * *

The roof really did have a beautiful scenery. From her standpoint, Naoko could see a vast expanse of blue sky, splashed with fluffy white clouds and dotted with an array of birds.

It was picturesque, to say the least. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, she opened up her bento.

_Finally, peace and quiet._

Her local fame had finally caught up to her this morning. In her classroom, she had been mobbed by her classmates, all of them bombarding her with question after question. Heck, a few of the girls had even asked for her autograph.

An afternoon to herself was just what the doctor ordered—

"Yoohoo, Mako-chan~"

The piece of succulent pork sliding down her throat nearly got sucked back up in the opposite direction. Coughing, she reached for her thermos, gulping down the warm water.

She looked at him shrewdly. "What."

He shrugged, giving her a lazy grin. "I just thought you needed some company." Without even waiting for an answer, he sat next to her, opening up his own bento.

"... I was fine before you got here," she said pointedly.

To her dismay, Oikawa wasn't swayed. "Mako-chan, there's no need."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Eh? What are you talking about?"

Oikawa put a hand on her shoulder, adopting a saint-like air about him. Naoko stared at him, growing increasingly bewildered.

"I know you love me," he stated. He said it so seriously that Naoko almost did a double take.

"H-hah?!"  _What the hell?!_

At that, Oikawa's demeanor flopped. The corners of his mouth quirked upward as he laughed, eyes closing as his guffaw grew more violent. "You should have seen your face, Mako-chan!"

"Again,  _what_?"

He shook his head. "I was just messing with you, Mako-chan." Oikawa gave her a lopsided grin. "But say that I did mean it... that I did love you with all my heart. What would you do?"

"Try to wake myself up."

"Oho~ So you often have dreams of me?" Oikawa gave her a flirty wink, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said dryly. "Any dreams I would ever have of you would be nightmares." She paused, as if to consider her own words. "Wait—there was one time that I did dream of you."

Oikawa leaned forward, intrigued. His eyes were gleaming with almost child-like curiosity. "Really? What was it about?"

Naoko took a bite of her pork with some rice before answering. "Tadashi and I were still children in my dream. He was in his last year of grade school."

 _Grade school?_ Oikawa repeated in his head, his curiosity doubling with an almost frightening intensity.  _So when he was still a bully._ When they had finally graduated from grade school, he had been so relieved to hear that Tadashi was to be going to a different middle school than him—Shiratorizawa Junior High if he remembered correctly. He had only been in the fourth grade. Tadashi had been in the sixth.  _He was held back._ Oikawa had realized this much earlier, but it was always a bit surprising when he revisited the fact. It was a bit of a bombshell—like Hinata's and Kageyama's freak quick.

"He was walking with his old volleyball team," Naoko continued.

Oikawa nodded, remembering that Tadashi had mentioned something about being part of a volleyball team in elementary school. He never spoke much about it—not that they pressed him for information.

"You were there. I don't know why, but you were there. You were on the team."

In elementary, Oikawa hadn't dared to join the the team out of fear of Tadashi. It was only after he graduated that Oikawa made his move. Any practicing he had done was all outside of school, far away from Tadashi's burning gaze.

"And then?" Oikawa prompted, noticing that she had closed up.

"... Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Suddenly, the door slammed open, causing Oikawa and Naoko both to startle. Had they finally been discovered?

Naoko seriously needed to consider actually locking the door next time she was up here.

Fortunately, it wasn't a staff member.

"Hi there!" Midori said cheerily, a rosy flush on her cheeks. "Mind if I join you guys?"

"Sure," Oikawa said easily, not bothering to consult Naoko first. Judging from the way the nonviolent way she reacted, she was not very bothered by the green-haired girl's presence.

Naoko considered Midori carefully, knowing that Midori needed something from her. Why else would she come up here? There was no way that Midori would have even known about Oikawa being here, so she couldn't be here for him.  _Not unless that dumb chihuahua wasn't careful enough..._

She needed not ponder upon Midori's motives for long. The energetic girl revealed her situation almost immediately after she sat down.

"Remember that dog walking service I started?" When Naoko nodded, she went on, "I need your help. A client phoned last night and I accepted the job." She scratched her head. "But the thing is, I need to walk and look after six puppies and a momma dog."

"Dogs?" Oikawa's attention had been captured. "Tell me more, Mi-chan." He smiled at her. "I love puppies."  _As long as they don't bite, scratch or shit all over the place._

Naoko shot him a wary look. "Don't you have volleyball practice—"

"Cancelled until the end of the week for gym renovations. All of the other gyms are reserved for the other teams." Oikawa smirked at her. "Sorry, Mako-chan, but you're not getting out of this one."

"Pleeaasee!" Midori implored, giving Naoko the puppy eyes. The latter girl cringed. "You said you'd help, remember? I was gonna call you last night but it was late and you were probs asleep!"

"Erm, Midori—"

"Pleaaaseee?!"

"Come on, don't be a sour oyster," Oikawa mocked, sticking his tongue out at her. "Oyster-chaaan."

"All of the puppies are so adorable! I'll show you a picture!"

"Guys!" Naoko barked sharply, glaring at both of them. "... I never said no."

"Yay!"

"Ahh, oyster-chan's such a big softie..."

"Shut up, you dumb chihuahua." Naoko started to eat again. "I think I know who the client is anyway."

"Eh?" Oikawa and Midori said in unison.

"Is it Yoshida-san?" Naoko asked, the question aimed at Midori.

"Oh my god, yes! How did you know?! Are you some kind of stalker?! I'm pretty sure Katsumi has a stalker too—"

"Yoshida-san is one of my students," Naoko said before Midori could enter into a full ramble about stalkers.

"That's right; you teach self-defence, don't you?" Oikawa recalled.  _She saved Takeru from those thugs._

"Mm. She stopped coming to classes a while ago to take care of the puppies. She even offered me one of the pups for free."

"Did you take it?" Midori inquired.

"No."

"Oh."

"I'm not capable of taking care of a pet," Naoko elaborated. A pet meant more time, energy and—most importantly—more money spent on looking after it. Owning an animal was something she just couldn't afford.

"But Naoko! All you need to do is feed it, groom it, bathe it—"

"That's enough," Oikawa interrupted. "We get it. That still doesn't change the fact that Mako-chan doesn't want a dog."

Naoko shot him a grateful look that he missed.

"Yeah, I guess... so you guys are going to help me? It's after school from three fifteen to six. Just to confirm and all."

"I've got time on my hands, so yes," Naoko answered.

"Sure, Mi-chan. I don't have practice anyway."  _Sorry, Iwa-chan, but I'll take a rain check this time. It's puppies! And Naachan will be there. She's my friend too._

"Great!" Midori clapped her hands together in excitement. "This is going to be so much fun!"

* * *

"Umm, Kageyama-kun... did you draw a face on the egg?" That was the first thing that Honda Kaede said to him that afternoon.

To be fair, Kageyama  _had_  been avoiding her all morning and during lunchtime as well.

"Yes," Kageyama said shortly, looking a bit caught off guard. Why would anyone ask a question with such an obvious answer?  _Yes_ , the egg had a face on it. Anyone within a three feet radius could see that. So what was the point in asking?

"Oh, okay... May I ask why?" She giggled stoutly. "Next you'll be telling me that you named it too."

"I did."

"H-hah?"

With a pained look on his face, he declared, "Meet Kageyama Yoko."

"What?!"

* * *

_"Hey, can you do something for me?" Sumire asked, a wicked idea coming to mind._

_"What?"_

_"When Honda-san approaches you tomorrow," Sumire told Kageyama, "I want you to say 'meet Kageyama Yoko!' Got it?"_

_"You want me to do what?! Why should I listen to you?"_

_She pouted at him. "Because I'm hurt," she whined pitifully. "And Tobio is being so mean to meeee_ — _"_

_"No way in hell am I doing that!"_

_"Pleasseee?"_

_"No!"_

_"Pleaseeee?"_

_"NO! Who do you think I am?!"_

_"Come on! Oop, wait." She nicked the replacement egg from him and grabbed a permenant marker that was conveniently resting on the coffee table. Swiftly, she scribbled on the eggshell with the marker, Kageyama giving her a curious glance._

_"What the hell are you doing?"_

_"Our first egg had a few blemishes on it," Sumire explained. "This is the perfect way to cover it up. It's totally inconspicuous, see?" She returned him the egg and he looked at it with disgust._

_"Is this supposed to be a face?"_

_"Hah? What do you mean by that? Of course it is!"_

_Kageyama grimaced at the egg's 'face'. Its eyes were different sizes as well as different shapes and its smile was wonky. From the line that acted as its 'smile', buck teeth protruded, each tooth also a different size from one another._

_Well. At least she had her musical genius to make up for her lack of artistic talent._

_"Tobio, it'll be funny, I promise," she pleaded. "Do it for me. Please? I did kind of stop your house from burning down."_

_"You're the one who threw water on a grease fire," Kageyama said accusingly._

_"Under your instructions!" Sumire retorted._

_"Then maybe you shouldn't have looked away from the stove, dumbass."_

_"I wouldn't have if you hadn't decided to push me."_

_"You shouldn't have stood underneath a falling pan."_

_"I didn't know it was about to fall."_

_"Maybe you should have," he said snidely, finding himself to be enjoying this way too much._

_"Ugh, you are an asshole," she grumbled._

_"And you're a twig bastard." Even then, he couldn't help but consider her idea. Would it be weird enough to effectively scare Honda away? He made up his mind to do it anyway. If it could help him chase Honda off, it was worth a try._

* * *

"I... see," was all Honda could say as she ogled at the graffitied egg. "It's... nice. Did you draw that yourself, Kageyama-kun?"

"No."

"Oh... okay. I'm glad."

Pfft. Kageyama would have to tell Sumire this later to rub her artistic skill—or lack of thereof—in her face. Even Honda Kaede seemed to be slightly disturbed by the egg's face.

Luckily, she didn't suspect anything off about the egg (other than the obvious), and returned to her seat after trying to avoid the egg's gaze uncomfortably. Kageyama had to give Sumire props—the egg had the sort of glare that stared into one's inner soul.

"Good job, Yoko," Kageyama randomly praised the egg, thankfully not loud enough to get weird stares.

The egg stared back at him. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the egg seemed to be rather pleased with itself.

* * *

 _**A/N:** _ _**No, I'm not ripping off Leiko's sister's name for the egg as well. I decided that the egg would be named Yoko because HEY HEY HEY inter-language puns, amirite?!** _

 


	29. Puppy Love

_Sacrifice to me is something you do without expecting something in return._

_—_ _Marilyn Manson_

* * *

At the snapped leads, Naoko and Oikawa exchanged a near lifeless glance, eyes vacant.

"Shit," they said listlessly in unison.

* * *

_**About an hour ago...** _

"Midori, be careful!" Naoko barked as Midori pranced across the road without even looking, the multiple anime key chains on her bag jingling.  _So dangerous! She's going to get herself killed one day._

"Ah, it's fine, Mako-chan, the road's clear," Oikawa appeased her.

"That's not the point. She should have looked both ways  _before_ crossing."

"Maybe. But she's safe, so don't worry your pretty little head."

Naoko shot him a wary glance. "Right..."

"Hurry up, guys!" Midori said impatiently, tapping her foot on the pavement. "It's already ten past three! We have to be there by three fifteen, you know."

"So what?" Oikawa yawned. "No need to rush... I'm sure Yoshida-san won't mind if we're a little late."

"It's not professional," Midori protested, crossing her arms across her breasts as Oikawa and Naoko finally caught up with her. "And I want Yoshida-san to like me as well. Maybe she'll ask me to babysit her puppies again." She clenched her fist, making a resolve. "We have to make a good first impression!"

"... It's puppies," Naoko deadpanned.

Five minutes later, they found themselves in front of Auntie Yoshida's home, a humble little one-storey house that looked a combination of modern-traditional. Midori knocked and Yoshida answered the door almost immediately, extremely frazzled. From the speed which she had used to open the door, she had definitely been expecting them.

"Naoko-sensei!" Yoshida fumbled over her words as a ball of fluff barked up her leg. "Oh, how embarrassing...!"

"Helloooo?" Midori greeted loudly. "I'm the babysitter! Actually, we all are."

"Good afternoon," Oikawa said politely, smiling at the woman.

Yoshida was instantly charmed. "Good afternoon to you too, dear. What's your name?"

"Oikawa Tooru, Yoshida-san. My friends and I are here to look after your puppies."

The middle-aged lady nodded, pushing back a particularly boisterous pup that tried to escape from the confines of the house. "Wonderful!" She turned to Midori. "You must be the girl that I talked to last night. Midori-chan, yes?"

"Uh huh!"

"Okay, let me run through with you what you need to do..."

Yoshida went on to explain about how they would have to keep them pups entertained as they got bored easily. The mother dog, Ling-Ling, wouldn't be able to keep all of them in check by herself. The dogs would have to be walked at four and taken to the park. Then they would return back to the house at five and keep the dogs entertained for another hour before Yoshida came back from a meetup with her friends.

"Got it?" Yoshida asked, not unkindly.

"Yep," Oikawa said. "You go and enjoy yourself, Yoshida-san, we'll take care of everything! I bet you haven't had an afternoon to yourself in a while," he added sympathetically.

Naoko observed their interaction wryly. Oikawa was really turning on the charm with this poor old lady and she was falling for him hard. In Yoshida's eyes, Oikawa could do no wrong—the quintessential perfect son that Yoshida never had.

"Thank you so much, everyone," Yoshida said thankfully, bowing to all of them. "Naoko-sensei, I'll practice hard for you! When I return to classes, it'll be like I never left."

"I'll be the judge of that," Naoko said evenly.  _Does this mean she's going to put the puppies up for adoption?_ Yoshida lived alone and Naoko doubted she could support a household of seven dogs for long. At least five of those pups were going to be adopted out. She had been offered a puppy before but had declined. It seemed like anyone else Yoshida had asked had also denied her request.

"Goodbye!" Yoshida waved to them one last time. "Also, the extra set of keys to the house is in the top drawer of that cabinet over there."

And then she was gone, the door slamming behind her. Oikawa, Naoko and Midori all sweatdropped when they heard Yoshida squawking in excitement outside, watching her practically  _dance_ to her bicycle through the big window.

"Well then!" Oikawa said rather cheerfully. "I wonder if Yoshida-san has any good alien movies lying around?"

Naoko frowned disapprovingly. "Don't tell me you're going to search through her things?"

"Of course I am. Don't worry, Mako-chan, I'll put it all back."

A puppy barked and flung itself onto Oikawa's pant leg, biting gently into the fabric.

"Eh? Erm, get off please—"

Another puppy, its tail wagging, curled its body around Oikawa's other ankle, woofing.

"They like you!" Midori's jaw nearly dropped. "No fair, I'm here too, you know."

As if sensing her hurt, more puppies barrelled into Midori, knocking her onto the carpet.

"Eep! Okay, okay, heehee!"

The remaining two puppies started to advance toward Naoko before halting. Naoko tilted her head to one side and lowered herself down to the floor, waiting for the puppies to shower her with attention as well.

Her eyes grew even more spiritless when the dogs, their ears flattened, backed away from her slowly, as if they were afraid.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Naoko spoke up, uncomfortable.  _... Can they even understand what I'm saying?_

The pups barked in alarm and immediately padded away to where their mother was lounging against the foot of the couch. The mother shiba inu yawned groggily, not very happy that her children had disrupted her nap.

Naoko, looking a bit confused, sat on the ottoman, her hands folded in her lap as she awkwardly observed Midori laughing from puppy love and Oikawa trying desperately to comb the puppies off his legs.

"Hey, stop!" Oikawa chided, trying to shake them off. "Honestly, you're all so naughty..." Eventually, he bent over and picked them up in his arms, setting them on the couch. "I'm  _going_  to find some movies for us to watch," he said seriously, narrowing his eyes at the small creatures. "Stay there like good little chibis."

"Aww, I know you love me, but you're going to mess up my face if you keep licking," Midori was saying, rolling over to let the dogs off her chest gently. "Geez, you guys are so energetic. No wonder Yoshida-san looks so stressed all the time."

Naoko continued to sit silently.  _This... wasn't what I really expected._ She glanced over at where the remaining two puppies were cowering against their mother's barely. Ling-Ling looked like she couldn't care less about their cowardice, drowsily flicking her ears.  _Why are they scared of me?_ _What about Midori and Oikawa?_

Oikawa was busy digging through Yoshida's DVD cabinet, muttering some things under his breath.

_I should probably stop him,_ Naoko thought tiredly.  _These puppies... are going to be the death of me._ "Oi," she called to Oikawa.

"What?" Oikawa answered, his head still in the cabinet.

"Stop that."

"Hah? Why? I think I just spotted  _Alien vs. Predator_ in here anyway so we can add that to the watch list."

"It's rude and invasive."

"Don't care. I'm bored."

"Hey, guys!" Midori interrupted. "I'm going to the bathroom, okay?"

"You really shouldn't look through other people's things," Naoko said to Oikawa, ignoring Midori. "I don't care how bored you are, you dumb chihuahua. What if you find something in there that you shouldn't be seeing?"

"What could be so bad?" Oikawa replied flippantly, waving his hand dismissively at her. "Don't worry so much, Mako-chan, you'll get frown lines on your pretty face. I doubt Yoshida-san would be keeping suspicious things in here anyway. She's a nice old lady. What are you expecting to see? BL manga?"

"You never know," Naoko stated tonelessly. She turned her stare to the puppies. "Sometimes things don't turn out like you would expect them too." At that, the puppies cringed and buried their faces into their mother's fur.

"What are you going on about?" Oikawa pulled out his head and noticed Naoko staring longingly at the dogs. A devious smile graced his handsome features. "Oh, I see what's going on..."

"Huh?"

"You're jealous and hurt!" Oikawa crowed, pointing at a bewildered Naoko with flair. "Mako-chan, none of the puppies like you, do they?"

"... That's not it."

Oikawa made his way over to the ottoman and sat beside her, pushing her to the side a bit to make room. "Ah, no need to be so sad, Mako-chan. If I remember correctly, my very annoying kohai doesn't exactly have an affinity for animals either. See, Mako-chan, this is why I think that animals are at least intelligent enough to understand how controlling and irritating Tobio-chan is. I think their dislike of you means something as well."

"Animals don't  _dislike_ me," Naoko protested, miffed. "The mother dog—Ling-Ling—doesn't dislike me."

"No offense, Mako-chan, but Ling-Ling isn't even awake right now," Oikawa pointed out, gesturing at the snoring mother dog. At her disbelieving look, he got up and scooped the two scared puppies into his arms. The dogs—according to their collar tag, their names were Hiro and Riku—calmed significantly and practically melted into his touch. Seeing this, Oikawa tossed Naoko a shit-eating grin.

Warily, Naoko shuffled to where Oikawa was standing, reaching for the puppies. Whining, they shirked into the crook of Oikawa's elbow.

"Mako-chan is so scary, isn't she?" Oikawa said to the dogs. "Did you know that she condones the eating of dogs? I got her a puppy for her birthday last month and it hasn't been seen since."

"Liar," Naoko said flatly, scowling at him. "My birthday is in December. And I don't condone eating dogs. Where did you even get that from, Shittykawa?"

"Don't you remember?" He cocked his head to one side. "I told you that oysters get eaten and you said that dogs get eaten too. Then I told you that I wouldn't get you a dog for Christmas."

"Why would I remember all of our conversations? I don't need any more headaches," she said snidely.

"Pfft!" He stuck his tongue out at her and pulled at the bottom of his eyes, creating a rather comical expression. He nearly dropped the puppies but managed to keep them both tucked in one arm, if just barely. "Oyster-chan, you're so jealous you can't even admit it!"

"I never—"

"Jealouuuss!"

"Hrr, Shittykawa—"

_"Jeaalouuuss! Jealous!"_

The puppies in Oikawa's arm were now barking excitedly.

"Let me speak, dammit!" Naoko snapped irritably.

"Don't want to!" Oikawa whined. "Mako-chan is like Tobio-chan in a wig!"

"Like wha— _who_  in a wig?!"  _Does he mean Kageyama?_

Oikawa opened his mouth to retort before a loud scream interrupted him. The brunet nearly dropped the puppies. Hastily, he set them down on the couch, where they looked at him confusedly.

"Midori," Naoko said grimly, rushing over to the closed bathroom door. She tried to open it but it was locked. So she called out, "Midori, are you alright?! Can you hear me?"

Whining, the puppies all gathered at the door as well, as if they could sense that something was wrong.

"Mi-chan?" Oikawa's voice wavered with concern. "Please tell me that you just slipped on soap or something."

A muffled noise came from behind the door before the knob started to twist as a result from movement on the other side. Eventually, it opened and Midori hobbled out, her eyes glassy with pain.

"What happened?" Naoko demanded, she and Oikawa helping Midori to the couch.

"I fell off the toilet seat and twisted my ankle..." Midori whimpered, wincing as Oikawa propped her foot on a cushion.

"Sorry, sorry!" Oikawa hurriedly apologized. "How did you fall off a  _toilet_ though?"

"It's Midori, don't bother asking," Naoko said, ever steadfast as she disappeared into another room to fetch a first aid kit before returning. "You sprained your ankle. I'm going to wrap it up, okay?" When Midori nodded, Naoko added, "It'll be the best way to avoid swelling and bruising."

Dutifully, she began to bandage Midori's swollen ankle, ignoring the girl's whimpers of pain.

"Hold on," Oikawa said, nudging Naoko aside. "It's better to wrap it..." He undid Naoko's work and swaddled Midori's foot in his own way. "... Like this," he finished.

At Naoko's dubious look, he explained, "I've had my fair share of injuries... Iwa-chan and coach made sure that I'd know what to do."

"If you're sure," Naoko relented. "Midori, you won't be able to walk the dogs now. You know that, right?"

"Yeah..." Midori sighed glumly. "Guess you two will have to have all the fun without me..."

"You won't be missing out on much," Oikawa reassured her. "All we'd be doing is picking up shit."

The green-haired girl let out an amused huff. "True." She pulled out her phone. "I have to beat this next level of Candy Crush anyway!" Midori glanced over at a nearby digital clock. "Oop, it's nearly four. You guys should probably start getting the dogs ready for their walk. Remember what Yoshida-san said? You have to dress all the pups in their individual clothing."

"How troublesome," Oikawa murmured. "Oh well. It'd be worth it in the end—they'll all look so cute, right, Mako-chan?"

Naoko made a noncommittal noise, tying up her hair as to not get it blown around her face in the outside gale.

There was lots of barking, whining, biting and avoiding Naoko as much as possible with the puppies, but the pair finally managed to get them all dressed up in their walking clothes.

It was undeniably adorable, Naoko had to admit, a faint blush appearing on her face as she realized just  _how_ cute these little shiba inus looked in their jackets and jumpers. Ling-Ling was now wide awake and sitting obediently, waiting for Naoko and Oikawa's next move. She didn't complain or fuss when Oikawa wrapped a red and white checkered scarf around her fluffy neck.

"We'll both hold three of the puppies each," Oikawa declared, removing the leads from their place on the hanger. Each lead was a different color of the rainbow. "And I'll walk Ling-Ling as well."

"Are you sure?" Naoko asked.

"Mmhm. Besides," he gave her a smug glance, "I think they feel more comfortable with me anyway."

She gave him a dry look. "I told you before, animals don't dislike me. I'm sure Ling-Ling and I will get along just fine."

"Tell that to the poor puppies you're terrifying."

"Oh for goodness sake..." she grumbled, frowning down at the cowering puppies, who were trying to pull away from her as much as possible. But too bad for them—Naoko was gripping their leads extremely tightly. There was no chance of them tugging the lead out of her firm, steady hand. "Listen," she said to the puppies, ignoring Oikawa's amused expression. "I'm  _not_ going to hurt you. I'm being paid to look after you. It's my job. So stop making it so damn hard for me, okay?"

The puppies whined.

Naoko sighed through her nose.

"Wow. You really have no idea how to handle small terrified animals, do you, Mako-chan?" Oikawa teased. "I think you just made them even more scared of you."

"Yeah," Midori piped from her spot on the couch, grinning when she scored a combo on the game she was playing. "You can be really scary, Naoko. Why don't you try talking to them as if they were little kids, huh?"

Naoko blinked at them in confusion. "I am."

Oikawa and Midori exchanged a glance, both of them looking very grim indeed. "Oh god."

Sighing, Oikawa continued, "You know, if it weren't time for walkies right now, Mako-chan, I really need to talk to you on how to speak less..." He searched for a word. "... Plainly."

"Whatever," Naoko mumbled. "Let's just go. See you in about an hour, Midori."

"Bye-bye! Don't let the bed bugs—oh, wait, that's what you say when you tuck someone in—never mind!"

* * *

"Ahh, it's so nice out here," Oikawa remarked, rolling his shoulders while still maintaining a grip on the dog's leashes. Luckily for him, Ling-Ling seemed to be doing a wonderful job of keeping her puppies in line as they walked around the park.

"It is," Naoko agreed, her hair tickling the back of her neck.

"I wonder how good it'd be playing volleyball out here. Being indoors... it can get stuffy at times."

Naoko silently agreed.  _I never knew Oikawa had such an appreciation for the outside._

"Are you serious?!" Oikawa's annoyed voice wafted through the air.

One of the puppies—Masaki—had just taken a dump on the sidewalk. Luckily, they were surrounded by carefully kept bush on both sides and nobody was around to see.

"Tsk. Looks like you will be picking up shit after all."

"Don't just stand there, Mako-chan, help me find a bin!" Gagging, Oikawa pinched his nose and started to scoop the shit into one of those disposable plastic bags. "Gross, gross gross..."

"Fine, fine." Naoko tied the three leashed puppies to a medium-sized tree before hurrying off to find the nearest bin, doing her best to ignore the sheer look of relief on the dog's faces as she distanced herself between them.  _I don't understand. Why don't they like me? They like Shittykawa and Midori just fine._ "Ah, there's a bin..."

As Naoko turned back to return to Oikawa, a pair of cold, calculating blue eyes observed her from afar, unflinching as Naoko rejoined Oikawa.

Slowly, Chiyoko Izumi removed the box cutter that she always carried in pocket, slowly moving down the hill and toward where the puppies were tied up. Naoko and Oikawa's backs were turned to her. Izumi smiled to herself. It was always hard not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She was a spiteful person. It was no use denying it for Izumi. Her cattiness was simply integrated into her character. And she wholly embraced it, feeling not an ounce of regret as she used her box cutter to slash at the leashes. The puppies looked up her curiously but didn't even bark. Oh, it was just so fun causing trouble for her ex and that harpy bitch.

_Good dogs,_ she thought gleefully, watching them leave the precinct of the tree and sniff about. Then, thankfully still silent, they wandered off, leaving Izumi to resist the urge of shouting "Bye-bye!" after them.

Izumi could stay no longer. Swift as a fox, she disappeared up and over the hill just as Naoko and Oikawa removed themselves from conversation and turned around.

"I left them tied—" Naoko cut herself off, her pupils dilating. "What." She rushed over to the dogless leads, still tied to the tree. "No. It... Where have they gone?!"

Oikawa struggled to keep the rising panic down. "Mako-chan..."

"They were our responsibility." Naoko looked up at him hollowly.

_They were,_ Oikawa agreed hopelessly as the three other puppies plus Ling-Ling began to bark in alarm. Even if couldn't deny that. If Yoshida caught wind of this—which she undoubtedly would if they didn't find the dogs soon—they would likely be strangled by the stocky woman. What did it matter that Naoko was her instructor and that Oikawa was her new favorite person? They had lost the dogs. Dogs that Yoshida had loved and cared for—had entrusted them with.

At the snapped leads, Naoko and Oikawa exchanged a near lifeless glance, eyes vacant.

"Shit," they said listlessly in unison.

* * *

_**Present time** _

For Hikari, Haru and Riku, they had suddenly been released from their confines. To them, it was all one big adventure.

_"It was nice of that yellow human to free us,"_ Hikari woofed, her tail wagging. She sniffed around the park.  _"I'm so excited! Where to next?"_

_"I think I smell another dog nearby!"_ Haru barked, showing his teeth.  _"We should go say hi. And if he's mean, we should teach him a lesson."_

_"Are you sure?"_ Riku, a rather shy male, piped up.  _"They might be a lot bigger than us."_

_"Who cares?"_ Haru demanded.  _"Besides, I want to make some new friends. He's probably gonna be nicer than mean."_

_"I agree,"_ said Hikari.  _"But we should be careful, okay? Maybe the brown human will come but that doesn't matter. He is nice. But the black human... she is scary and maybe dangerous too."_

_"Okay!"_ her brothers chorused.

They traversed deeper into the bush and out to the other side of the main walkway in the park.

The park itself was deserted. There were literally no humans milling about around this side of the park, which was perfect for three playful puppies.

_"The smell of the other dog is stronger,"_ Haru informed his littermates.  _"Come on!"_

Excited, they ran with their stubby legs over the hill. The scent was growing stronger. It wasn't a very pleasant stench—it smelled of rot and dumpster juice—but there was the underlying smell of a fellow dog as well.

Finally, they reached the top of the grassy mound and started to skid downward on the other side, rolling over themselves in a fun tumble.

Hikari stopped rolling first, having bumped into something.

Then came Haru, also coming to a stop.

Finally, little Riku tumbled straight into his brother and sister.

At the same time, they looked up at what they had ran into.

A big, black dog, with what could only be described as a hungry insanity alight in her eyes.

* * *

Ling-Ling suddenly whined, as if she knew that something was wrong. Without warning, she pulled against Oikawa.

"Ack, Ling-Ling, stop—" Oikawa swore when Ling-Ling managed to tear herself and her lead from his grip and ran off.

"She's found a trail," Naoko concluded. "Don't just stand there, you dumb chihuahua, let's go!"

Their hearts pounding, Oikawa and Naoko ran as fast as their legs could take them, the three remaining puppies in their custody keeping pace easily.

_Please be okay,_ Oikawa pleaded silently. He may not have totally warmed up to the small creatures, but he didn't think he could bear it if they got hurt because of their carelessness.

They crossed through a patch of bushes, ignoring the way that the leaves and thorns pricked at their legs and arms. Naoko got her hair caught against a branch but managed to tear free, losing only a clump of hair.

Oikawa winced on her behalf. "Mako-chan? You okay?"

"Fine," Naoko replied through gritted teeth.

They burst through the plant wildlife and to a clearing. Barking could be heard from the other side of a medium-sized mound, leaving no doubt in either of the teens' minds that Ling-Ling and the missing pups were there.

"Ling-Ling!" Oikawa cried as they finally saw the carnage.

Even Naoko had to flinch at the amount of blood that had been spilled in such a short time. One of the puppies had a bad bite mark on its back while Ling-Ling was currently facing off with the attacker—a large dog, black as night.

Ling-Ling bore a wound on her shoulder. The shiba inu was by no means a fighter, having gotten used to a comfortable life under the care of Yoshida.

Oikawa picked up a stick to fend the rogue dog off but it had leaped into the air, knocked Ling-Ling aside with a powerful blow, and lunged straight for the crying puppies.

_No!_ Oikawa screamed in his mind, leaving the stick in favor of running toward the dog. Maybe, just maybe, if he could get the puppies out of the way before  _it was_   _too late_ —

A black blur flew past him with nearly impossible deftness.

Naoko collected the puppies in her arms just as the rogue dog's fangs sank deep into her right arm, tearing downwards as she dove past.

_As blood spilled, he knew it was too late._

Oikawa had never heard a more heartbreakingly frightening sound than her scream.

* * *

The phone rang in the Makoshima household just as thunder struck, indicating that a downpour was about to happen. Sumire yawned and got up from behind her desk, where she had been doing her homework (though she had spent about ten minutes napping earlier).

"I'll get it!" she called for Tadashi's benefit.  _Weird._ Worry struck her heart.  _W-we paid the bills on time, right?! Naoko-nee always makes sure._

The phone continued to ring until Sumire picked it up.

"Hello?" she murmured sleepily. "Who is it...?" Her eyes widened slightly as the person on the other line introduced themselves. "Yoshida-san? I think my sister has mentioned you before..."  _Can I go back to doing my homework? In where 'doing homework' is a euphemism for 'taking a nap'?_

Yoshida's voice picked up.

Sumire paused mid-yawn.

"What."

_Naoko-nee... is in hospital?_

Sumire hardly registered the rest of the conversation.

Yoshida hung up, her voice worried and watery.

The phone clattered onto the floor, abandoned, just as Sumire fell her knees, her hair falling around her face.

 

 


	30. Crumbling Walls

_A person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn and not easily mended._

—  _Ian McEwan_

* * *

"Geez, did you see the body? It was disgusting."

In the waiting room, Oikawa wearily looked up at the speaker. He was holding a cup of coffee in one hand and talking to his friend.

"Hell yeah. Apparently, the kid split the dog's skull straight open  _and_ broke its neck. It's all over the news."

"Hey," Oikawa said, his gaze darkening. "Shut up."  _Shut the fuck up, you fucking assholes_ —

The men cringed at the black undertone that his voice took. The man with the coffee rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I think I hear my wife calling. She's a nurse you see. Later."

His friend sweatdropped. "Dude..." But the guy was already gone, having flocked off to answer his 'wife's' call. "... Don't leave me out to dry like this." He turned to Oikawa, who was staring blankly at the floor. "Hey, man. I'm sorry about my friend and I. I'll leave you alone."

Oikawa didn't answer, still fixated on the ground.

* * *

 _"NAOKO!"_ _Oikawa heard himself scream as he picked up the stick again, his entire body trembling. Oh god. There was so, so much blood, the metallic tang of it hanging heavy in the air._

_The girl's soft skin didn't stand a chance against the dog's vicious, snapping jaws. With the puppies gathered in her arms, she rolled once, then twice, before coming to a stop, unmoving. The puppies squirmed out of her arms before licking her face, worried for their savior._

_The dog glanced at a quivering Oikawa once before deeming him a non-threat and advancing toward Naoko and the puppies, which were squealing softly in fear. Ling-Ling got up on shaky legs and dashed toward the attacking beast, but said beast effortlessly batted the mother dog away._

_The rogue animal drew its lips backward in a snarl, ready to finish off the unconscious girl._

DON'T.  _Oikawa ran toward the animal, fury glowing bright in his eyes._ FUCKING WALK AWAY FROM ME!  _Bellowing, Oikawa lifted the sturdy stick high into the air and smashed it onto the dog's skull._

_The animal shrieked in pain, sprawling onto the grass and writhing in agony._

_"YOU_ _—"_ Bash.  _"_ _—FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"_ Bash.

_The dog's head lolled to the side, Oikawa having snapped its neck during the beating._

_Ling-Ling and her pups whined in fear, the latter curling up against their wounded mother._

_"Nnnghh... Oikawa...?"_

_The stick fell from his hands. Rain dripped from the tips of his hair onto his face, mixing with tears that he hadn't even known were pooling at his chin._

_"Mako-chan?" He swallowed a sob, practically diving toward where she lay, her hair now loose and fanning around her head._

_She looked up at weeping sky, her eyes glassy with pain. The impact of her fall combined with the sheer agony of her wound had been enough to knock her out for a few minutes._

_Naoko tried to lift up her uninjured arm but Oikawa gently pushed it back down, his own limbs quaking._

_"Ahh, fuck," Oikawa swore, laughing harshly. "Fuck_ _—I-I'll get you an ambulance..." He reached into his pocket and fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling as he clumsily dialed in the emergency number._

_"... Don't cry," Naoko implored._

_"H-huh? I'm not_ _—"_

_"Yes, you are." Her voice was strained. "Forget the ambulance for now... just... stem the bleeding... or else I might bleed out." Her shoulders shook with great effort as she continued to instruct him, her words becoming increasingly incoherent. "I... don't know if an artery was hit."_

_"R-right." Oikawa cursed again when he dropped his phone on the grass. He hurriedly picked it up and shoved it back into his pocket before removing his uniform jacket. Trying to calm his heart, he attempted to put pressure on her bloody wound in order to stop it from bleeding so much using his jacket. The white fabric quickly became stained with Naoko's fluids when he finally managed to tie the jacket around the bite successfully._

_The operator finally picked up. Oikawa had forgotten about that. He fished his phone out again._

_"What took you so long?!" Oikawa barked harshly, his voice going up an octave in fear. Without even waiting for a reply, Oikawa quickly disclosed their current location, ordering an ambulance be sent._

_Warily, the two puppies Naoko had saved nudged the girl's head, no longer so afraid of her._

_"H-hey, Mako-chan? Look at that," Oikawa said lamely, pointing at what was happening. "Mako-chan...?"_

_"Mmm..." She started to drift in and out of consciousness. "... It feels funny..."_

_Fresh, hot tears fell from his eyes. "You're going to be okay."_

_"Oikawa_ _—"_

 _"You hear me?!" he yelled at her, his face contorting with disquieted anger. "You're going to be fucking okay_ _—"_

_"Dumbass."_

_Oikawa stopped in his rant, staring at Naoko._

_"You need to learn how to..." She laughed mirthlessly. "Shut the fuck up. By the way, it hurts like a bitch."_

_"Do you want me to stop pressing down so hard_ _—"_

_"Do I want to die? No. Keep pressing." If Oikawa hadn't been listening, he would have surely missed the way her voice suddenly got higher as soon as she entertained the idea of crossing over._

_"You're not going to die," Oikawa said stubbornly. "If you die, I'll bring you back to life and kill you again!"_

_Naoko huffed softly in amusement before moaning in pain._

_In the near distance, a siren wailed._

_Oikawa's arms nearly gave out as he continued to apply the necessary pressure to slow down the flow of blood. He was bone tired._ Please, just let this day end already _—_

_"Don't fall on me, okay?" Oikawa's ears could barely make out Naoko's exhausted voice. "Y-you dumb chihuahua..."_

_"Oyster-chan," Oikawa said seriously, sounding just a bit nasally due to his stuffed nose. "I wish I could have been better to you." He didn't deserve her. He really didn't. Not when he only wanted to use her in the beginning_ _—_

_"... What do you mean?"_

_He ignored her question. "Mako-chan. When you get out of hospital, go out with_ _me."_

 _"Wha_ _—"_

_"Don't answer now. Actually, never answer if you don't want to. Just know that I'll look after you now."_

_Her gray eyes widened. Was he... confessing to her? Now of all times? "You sure know pick the perfect moment to try and win a girl's heart," she said dryly._ I'll look after you,  _he had promised._... I—

_"What can I say?" Oikawa regarded her with tired eyes. "I have my moments."_

You certainly do,  _Naoko silently agreed as the paramedics arrived on the scene._

* * *

The waiting room door slammed open. Oikawa glanced upward to see one dripping wet Makoshima Sumire.

"Oikawa—" she started.

"Sumire-san!" An exasperated nurse caught up with her. "Please, Sumire-san—"

"Where is my sister?!" Sumire shouted, near hysterical. "Nakamura-san," she pointed accusingly at the nurse, "won't tell me anything so  _where is she_ —" She cut herself off with a sob. It was only then that Oikawa realized her eyes were already as puffy and swollen as his was. She must have cried all the way down here.

"She's in surgery," Oikawa informed her, trying to keep it together.  _She'll be okay. I swear._ "Sumire-chan. She'll be okay. I swear."  _On my life._ "On my life."

"Why?!" Sumire cried, "What happened?"

"Sumire-san," Nakamura the nurse tried again. "Please calm down—"

"My sister," Sumire interrupted, her voice quivering, "is in  _the fucking hospital._ Don't tell me to calm down when you don't even—"

"Sumire-chan." Oikawa gave her a weary glance.  _Please shut up. You're not going to help Mako-chan by_ — "Come here."

"H-huh?" She stared at him through watery eyes, confused. "I... don't understand." Reluctantly, she moved closer to him until she stood right in front of him. "What do—"

Oikawa pulled her into a rather forceful and tight embrace, practically dragging her into his arms. "Don't worry."

Though he couldn't see it, Sumire's composure being falling apart faster than ever before. She sank, defeated, into his arms, eyes wide with shock as twin trails of tears streamed down her cheeks. Then, without warning, she buried her face into his shoulder and began to cry horribly. She heaved, making an array of choking noises as she tried and failed to keep it together.

Nakamura looked upon them with pity in here eyes—a look that Oikawa found himself starting to despise. Nevertheless, he sat perfectly still and silent as Sumire sobbed loudly into him, even when her tears and snot soaked through his uniform vest and blouse, creating a patch of wet and uncomfortable on the skin of his shoulder.

"Where's your brother?" Oikawa asked slowly when Sumire eventually calmed, her shallow breathing the only indication that she was still alive.

She muttered something unintelligible into the ruined fabric of his uniform. Knowing that he couldn't have possibly deciphered what she had just said, she lifted her head and repeated, "I-I forgot about him. He doesn't even know what happened. I-I-I left right away—" Guilt flooded into her eyes and Oikawa's heart broke just a bit more.

 _Why is she blaming herself?_ He didn't know her as intimately as some other people—cough, irritating Tobio-chan, cough—but she had always given off the vibe that she felt responsible for anything bad that happened.

"Don't," he chided, trying not to sound like he was completely mentally drained.

She began to cry softly and Nakamura returned to the waiting room with a box of tissues. Oikawa blinked. He hadn't even known that the nurse had left in the first place. The brunet shot her a grateful look as she set down the tissue box nearby, nodding sympathetically.

Nakamura shot them one last look before removing herself from the room, as if she felt like just being in the same space as them was some kind of violation.

"It was a dog," Oikawa began, answering Sumire's unasked question. "Your sister... she was hurt because of it. She got injured because she tried to save some puppies from the dog."

"Mm," she whimpered into his chest. "What... happened to it? T-the dog, I mean..."

"Dead," Oikawa said hollowly, feeling his hands twitch.  _Because I killed it._ He had never killed anything before. There had been a time where he had pulled the wings of a housefly out of curiosity and then cried about it, having been overwhelmed with guilt that stemmed from harming a living, breathing creature. But the dog had harmed Naoko. And because of that, he did not feel an ounce of regret for the beast.

His heart thudded beneath his chest and he shivered.  _Just because I killed it doesn't mean I'm a bad person,_ he told himself. Deep down, he knew that his reasoning was correct. But right now, all he could do was scramble around and try to grasp tightly onto this reasoning.

"Good." Sumire's voice was so cold and steely that Oikawa nearly fell out of his seat. But he quickly relaxed. It was only natural for her to seek to put the blame on something. "I'm glad. ... It was you, right?"

"... Yes," he admitted, not knowing what would come next from the girl. Would she fear him? Idolize him? He wasn't sure which of these prospects were more terrifying for him.

Sumire looked up at him, her eyes solemn as well as bloodshot. "I know what you're thinking.  _I'm a bad person. I killed an animal._ " She did her best to glare at him but it ultimately failed. Oikawa stared at her in silence, both of them knowing that she had hit the bull's eye.

"What do you want me to say, Sumire-chan?" Oikawa inquired softly, chuckling mirthlessly.

"Nothing. Just know this." She frowned at him, the action uncannily like Naoko's. Oikawa's heart twisted. "What kind of bad person would do what you did?"

"Sumire-chan—"

"A bad person wouldn't comfort a crying child," she pointed out. "I thought you were smarter than that, Tooru-nii."

Oikawa tried not to look too shocked.  _Tooru...nii?_

He must have failed in his quest to look indifferent, however, as Sumire instantly lowered her gaze to the floor. Her face was red and blotchy from crying so harshly but Oikawa could have sworn that her cheeks became colored with an even deeper shade of crimson.

"Oho~" Oikawa smirked at her, a bit of his playfulness returning. "'Tooru-nii'?"

"You told me to call you that before," she said defensively, rubbing her eyes while scowling.

"True. But you know what that means, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"You've finally  _accepted_ me," Oikawa said gleefully. "Ah, I knew you'd come around someday, Sumire-chan. You and Mako-chan are both so tsundere that it's cute." He paused before saying, "Or would the correct term in this case be 'kuudere'? What do you think, Sumire-chan?"

"I think that it's time for you to shut up," she snarked, no real malice in her voice.

"See? You and Mako-chan are carbon copies," he accused.

"No, we're not."

"Yes, you are."

"Oikawa Tooru?" A male nurse appeared at the entrance of the waiting room.

Immediately, Oikawa heaved Sumire off him and gently set her on the floor. "That's me."

"I've come to inform you that the operation was a success."

Sumire's eyes flooded with relief. "Oh my god—" She put a hand to her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes once again. "Thank god..."

 _Yes!_ Oikawa screamed in his mind,  _just_ managing to refrain himself from jumping up and down right there and then. "When can we see her?"

"The operation finished about half an hour ago but she's already awake." The nurse let out a low whistle and his checked his clipboard. "A real tough cookie, that one, even if it was only minor surgery. She hasn't asked for any visitors yet, but I'm sure she won't mind. It'd be nice for her to have someone to talk to."

"Thank you," Oikawa said gratefully, moving toward the door as he took Sumire by the hand. "Come on, Sumire-chan. This time, it's you who'll be scolding your stupidly brave sister."

"Heh. I wish..."

As they were guided to where Naoko was currently staying, Oikawa opened his phone, grimacing when he saw the many messages that Iwaizumi had left him, each getting more explosive after the other.

"Why the long face?" Sumire wondered, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Iwa-chan is being a mom again," Oikawa told her with a pout. "Wants to know where I am and why I'm not answering his texts." He huffed. "Well, he didn't answer any of mine this morning, so there!" He stuck his tongue out at the phone, as if he thought Iwaizumi could see it.

Sumire sweatdropped. "Okay... Maybe you should—oh, I don't know— _text him back_?"

"Not you too," Oikawa complained. "You, Iwa-chan and Mako-chan should be part of the Mom Club."

"Hah? Mom Club?"

* * *

"Mom Club?" Daichi echoed, sweatdropping as he read the name of the LINE chat group on Sugawara's phone.

"Uh huh," Suga affirmed with an ironically motherly smile. "I don't know about you, Daichi, but I've noticed that a lot of our rival teams have a mother figure to guide and care for them."

"Erm..." Daichi rubbed his head sheepishly before handing Suga the phone back. "... Are you sure?"  _What kind of club is the Mom Club?! Don't tell me Suga is going to meet up with the other 'moms' and knit!_

"Yaku-san, Moniwa-san and Akaashi-san are already part of the club," Suga said cheerfully, practically beaming up at Daichi. "You should start you own club," he added thoughtfully, looking upward in contemplation. "I know. The Dad Club!"

"Hah?!" Daichi nearly fell over himself. Did he just hear that right?

As Suga explained to him the concepts of the Dad Club and Mom Club, Daichi, to his own horror, found himself seeing things from a whole new perspective.

* * *

Still groggy from the pain-reducing drugs, Naoko hardly registered Oikawa and Sumire entering her room with her assigned nurse. She looked at them dully as they neared, taking a seat at the side of her bed.

"Mako-chan," Oikawa said lightly; the sheer relief in his voice could not be any more obvious to Naoko and that was saying something.

"Nee-chan!" cried Sumire, looking like she wanted nothing more than to fling her arms around Naoko.

 _She's been crying,_ Naoko noticed, still feeling a little lightheaded.

"Sumire-chan," Naoko rasped, her voice hoarse with disuse. "What... are you doing here?"

"She came to visit, duh," Oikawa answered for Sumire, rolling his eyes in amusement. "Geez, you're so dense sometimes, Mako-chan."

"It's the drugs talking," Naoko said lamely, moving her gaze upward at the white ceiling.

"Nee-chan," Sumire spoke up. "You're going to be okay, right?" Her gaze were pools of worry.

"Yes," Naoko said, almost loftily. "I'll be fine. Don't be concerned."

"Can I see the bite?" Oikawa suddenly asked, his eyes becoming a tad more tenebrous. "How bad is it?"

In response, Naoko peeled the blanket off her right arm using her left arm, revealing a rather ugly set of stitches that ran from her upper arm all the way to her wrist.

Oikawa winced. "Mako-chan..."

"It's ugly," Naoko stated bluntly. "But that doesn't matter."  _It'll scar. But that doesn't matter either. What matters is_ — "Are the puppies safe?"

"Seriously?!" Oikawa exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief. " _That's_ what you're worried about? Mako-chan, worry more about healing first, why don't you?"

"Yoshida-san already picked up the puppies," Sumire piped up, remembering that the woman had told her herself over the house phone. "They're all fine. Ling-Ling has been healed and the one puppy that got hurt is also okay."  _But are you, nee-chan? It's just that bite wound, right? Nothing else?_ She knew that Naoko wouldn't appreciate her fussing about this, but she really couldn't help it. Her sister had been  _hospitalized_ and could  _hardly think straight._ Plus, there was that horrible set of stitches that she knew would eventually scar in due time.

Naoko breathed a small sigh of relief. "That's good. Sumire-chan, Oikawa, can you please leave? I... I'm exhausted. I really need to rest."  _Great. More hospital bills to pay._

"Of course." Oikawa nodded understandingly, standing up and moving toward the door with Sumire, who gave Naoko a longing glance. He opened the door and let her out first—

Naoko raised an eyebrow when Oikawa closed the door without exiting. "What are you doing?"

"Just..." Oikawa sighed and leaned over Naoko. "This." Lightly, he kissed her forehead chastely. "You really gave me a scare, Mako-chan. Don't do it again, okay?"

"... I'll try not to," she promised, still feeling the searing touch of his lips on her skin.

_"Go out with me."_

_"You don't have to answer now._ _Actually, never answer if you don't want to. Just know that I'll look after you now."_

In hindsight, Naoko was grateful that Oikawa had given her that option. She stared after his retreating back, her gaze unmoving even as if he disappeared outside, closing the door behind him. Outside, she could hear Sumire demanding why he hadn't left with her, accusing him of further bothering her sister.

Naoko closed her eyes sleepily.

_Tooru... I don't have an answer for you yet._

* * *

_According to the legend, if you make a confession at the old cherry blossom tree at the back of the school on a Friday, the other person is bound to accept it._

With this in mind, Honda Kaede let loose a deep breath, looking up at the cloudy, weeping skies from her bedroom window.

_Kageyama-kun..._

* * *

**_A/N: Sorry if Oikawa is OOC here. I try to put things into perspective here_ _—if the person you like suddenly got pwned by a dog with big sharp teeth and there was blood everywhere, you'd be pretty pissed too. Pissed and frightened enough to know only one thing: to punish the attacker._ **

**_And the hospital scene... hopefully that wasn't too OOC either. I based that entire scene off my own experiences. Because I was the one who my mother cried into while awaiting news for a life-or-death surgery involving my grandfather._ **

**_Oikawa killed the dog. In Japan, Animal welfare and rights laws make it illegal to kill, injure, or inflict cruelty on animals protected under this law without due cause. Penalty includes a fine or up to one year imprisonment. However, Oikawa won't be charged due to the circumstances of the situation. Whether you disagree or not, Japan did receive a D grade (grades include A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) on World Animal Protection's Animal Protection Index so I hope that clears things up._ **

**_Errmm, semi-angsty Oikawa... I admit, I don't know him well enough to write him in such a distressing situation, yet I did so anyway so HEY HEY HEY points for trying amirite...?!_ **

**_Cherry blossom tree legend blatantly borrowed from Yandere Simulator's cherry tree blossom legend._ **

 


	31. The Scam

_Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it._

—  _Bruce Lee_

* * *

A clenched fist slammed on the table, causing it to shake from the impact. The fist was attached to an arm; the arm was attached to a very angry person.

 _"Un-fucking-believable,"_ he snarled lowly.

"Shouta—" one of the other people sitting around the table started.

"No!" Shouta barked, his fist trembling. "Don't you see, Takashi? She fucking abandoned us and now..." He took a deep breath, folding his hands in his lap. "We're done for. It's over, Takashi."

"Yamada-senpai," a first year piped. "Maybe you could put in one of the second years?" His unsaid question hung in the air.  _Or maybe one of the first years?_

Yamada Shouta, the black-haired, strong-jawed president of the martial arts club, exchanged a glance with his vice-president, Kishiyama Takashi, a young man with silver hair and round glasses.

"No," Shouta decided, his voice even. "I'm sorry, my dear underclassmen, but none of you are ready to take on such a task." He frowned. "All of you haven't even perfected the most basic katas. Takashi may be a second year, but he's also vice and the best! After me, of course."

All the second years and first years hung their heads. "We're sorry, Yamada-senpai!"

"It's okay," said the much kinder Takashi. "Shouta, do you think we could maybe find a replacement for Izumi-san?"

"Nada," was the miserable response. "She was one of our best. Ain't nobody gonna replace her. Looks like we're going to have to withdraw from the Miyagi Martial Arts Tournament..."

"Ah, Shouta?" Takashi sweatdropped as Shouta suddenly entered into a dark, depressed mood. "The thing is... when Izumi resigned from the club, I immediately thought of another who could replace her."

"Who?" Shouta said, his voice still down. He really couldn't believe that there would be anyone that could replace Chiyoko Izumi. Even the martial arts headband around his head seemed to wilt.

"Don't despair," Takashi encouraged with a smile. "You see, there's this girl in my year who could possibly be just as good as Izumi. Or even better."

Shouta scowled, having a hard time believing that such a girl could exist. "Oh, yeah? Who? Amuse me."

The lenses of Takashi's glasses glinted off the sunlight pouring in from the window of the clubroom as he pushed them up, smirking slightly. "Her name is—"

* * *

"Makoshima-sensei!" Yoshida warbled as she practically shoved a large packet of money in Naoko's hands. Naoko blinked at the fat wad of yen that she was now holding.

"Yoshida-san, what—"

"To replace the money you lost from paying those hospital bills," Yoshida said immediately. "And I've already made a donation to Yoko's Animal Shelter so she can pay her debt off."

Naoko stared at the woman in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm deadly serious," Yoshida said with a grim expression. "I won't take no for an answer. I may not look it, but I'm actually an heiress!" She sweatdropped. "Though most of that inheritance has been lost due to the puppies being looked after..." Yoshida slapped Naoko on the back heartily. "Ah, who cares! I'm just glad you're okay now!"

It had been a week since the attack, and Naoko could now use the arm properly enough to function. She was back working with Umeko, who knew of her injury and did her best to make sure that Naoko didn't strain herself. The stitched up area was bandaged tightly. The threads would be removed in about another week if Naoko continued to care for it.

"Yoshida-san..." To Yoshida's great surprise, Naoko bowed to her at the waist. "Thank you."

The woman gave her a kind smile as she lifted her head. "You're welcome, sensei. But you're still a school girl! So hurry up, chop-chop! Or you'll be late."

Naoko nodded, smiling just a little at Yoshida's shooing. She didn't know what she had expected walking past Yoshida's house this morning, but it certainly hadn't been this. The woman had been out in her front yard doing some gardening, her puppies with her.

Yoshida had then caught sight of Naoko and proceeded to strike up a conversation with her. The dogs had treated her in a most friendly manner, Ling-Ling even giving the girl a thankful lick on the hand.

As she arrived at school (by herself as Tadashi had gotten up earlier for morning practice with the team), she got a few looks from some students.

Naoko kept going.

It was only when she was changing into her indoor shoes that someone, rather than staring, approached her, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Makoshima-san?"

Naoko slipped on her indoor shoes successfully before turning to face the stranger. "Yes?"

The silver-haired boy—he reminded her of Karasuno's setter as well as another silver-haired setter who had gone to Shiratorizawa Junior High—smiled at her, his glasses nearly slipping off his nose.

He held out his hand. "Kishiyama Takashi," he introduced himself.

Cautiously, Naoko took his hand, shaking it. "Makoshima Naoko. But you already know who I am, don't you?"  _So what do you want from me?_

"Yeah," Takashi admitted sheepishly. "Makoshima-san, I'm part of the martial arts club. Vice-president, actually."

Ah, yes. The martial arts club that had closed their club from new entries before she could sign up.

"There's a prefectural martial arts tournament for high schoolers coming up very soon," Takashi went on to explain, taking Naoko's silence as consideration. "It requires either a school-approved team of three or one can participate as a soloist without any backing from their school.

"We were going to enter a team, but one of our teammates decided to abandon us to become a solo martial artists." He huffed in annoyance. "Bad idea if you ask me... But, anyway, I came to ask you if you wanted to become the third member of our three-man team."

"No," Naoko immediately declined. "Thank you for the offer but I'll have to refuse."

Takashi grabbed her shoulder just as she turned away. "Wait!" He stiffened at the cold irritation in her eyes. "Are you really that sure? I thought you might, I don't know, think about it for a bit?"

Naoko watched him, as if she were calculating his every move. Then, without warning, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing the bandages on her right arm.

Takashi gaped at it. "Oh, er... mind telling me what's under there?"

"Sutures."

"When are you getting them removed?"

"Next week."

He sighed in relief.

"Then you can still participate. The tournament is in two weeks."

"No."

"Huh? Why?!"

A vein popped on Naoko's temple.  _... This guy came off as a lot more mature in the start._

"I don't owe you an answer," she told him. "I'm going to class now. Goodbye."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Takashi tried to manhandle her again but she grabbed his wrist before he could even touch her. He gasped and tried to pull free but Naoko had an iron grip.

"H-hey—"

She twisted.

Takashi winced, barely able to stop a squeal. "Makoshima, please—"

Naoko let him ago and he stumbled backward, surprised.

Hopeful, he tried again, "Does that mean you'll—"

"Leave me alone."

Takashi stared after her, his gaze sad. What was he going to tell Shouta now? He had been so sure that Makoshima would jump at the opportunity.

"Dammit," he muttered, backhanding the lockers. "Now what?"

* * *

Izumi coughed as the girl opposite her blew a cloud of cigarette smoke in her face. She flapped her hand in a vain attempt to disperse the smoke.

"Want one?" the girl offered, a sneer on her face. "If you smoke, you won't get colds, you know."

"I'd rather get colds than lung cancer," Izumi said dryly, trying not to inhale too much of the cancerous air. "Why did you make me come here again, Tori?"

Tori, a girl with cropped black hair and a sideswept purple-dyed fringe, replied, "You left them, right?"

"Yeah, this morning. Why?"

"Good, I just wanted to make sure that you're not chickening out. My kaa-san is relying on you to win. She bet thousands on you. If you win, her money will increase ten-fold. Not to mention that she'll give some of the cut to you as well."

"We've been through this already," Izumi huffed. "Blah, blah, blah, rig the competition, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"Tsk, tsk, Izumi... I was just making sure." To Izumi's dismay, Tori blew another cloud of smoke right into the former's visage. "Kaa-san is very excited... you might be the best female martial artist in the school but that's certainly not the case when it comes to the entire Prefecture. You  _need_  us."

"I know that, bitch," Izumi snarled. "Which is why I agreed."

Tori let out a simpering laugh. "Izumi, Izumi... poor little Izumi..." Her eyes glinted dangerously. "If I were you, I'd avoid the bottled sports drinks as well as the coffee machine at the competition. Ta-ta!"

With that, Tori dropped her cigarette on the ground and sashayed away. Izumi growled under her breath for a moment before leaving as well. They were nearby the school's incinerator. It would be unwise to stay any longer due to the lingering stench of nicotine in the air; plus it was a popular corridor around this time with the allocated student cleaners.

When Izumi was gone, a figure melted away from the shadowy corners.

Naoko, a bag of trash in her hand, stared at the fallen cigarette before stamping on it, effectively putting it out.

* * *

"Okay, Kaede, you can do this," Honda coached herself. "Just present the bento to Kageyama-kun, cool as a cucumber!"

Now that the eggsitting task was over, Honda could focus fully on pursuing Kageyama's affections. Today, Wednesday, she'd start off with preparing him a bento. Then, she'd slowly, gradually win him over with more gifts and praises. Maybe she'd get him a new volleyball. His was looking a little beaten up. Finally, on next Friday, she'd leave a note in his shoe locker asking him to meet her at the old cherry blossom tree behind the school, where she'd confess to him.

A few students gave her questioning looks as she paced back and forth in the corridor. It was just after school and many had already left. The only people that would still be in the school was... Kageyama, the volleyball team, and the school cleaners. Maybe some other sports teams too, but that was irrelevant.

Though he didn't know it, Honda had been stalking Kageyama at school since last week and quickly realised that he didn't always eat lunch, usually content with a carton of yoghurt milk and whatnot.

Kageyama was a growing young man, which meant that he needed the protein and nutrients and—

Honda took a deep breath. Surely, Kageyama would be grateful for her bento.

Having now raised her confidence, Honda smiled to herself and stalked down the hallway and toward the volleyball team's gymnasium.

She arrived at the double doors, feeling a bit nervous.

"You can do this," Honda kept telling herself, "You can do this."

Honda pushed the doors opened, her eyes widening a little when a ball went flying toward her. Squealing, she ducked and the ball harmlessly bounced away. Shaking from the shock, she fell on her butt, the bento miraculously still in her hands.

"Sorry!" Daichi ran toward her and immediately helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"F-fine," she stuttered, her face pale. "It didn't hit me or anything..."

"Who's that?" Tsukishima asked boredly, observing the scene from further away.

"Honda Kaede," Yamaguchi supplied helpfully. "She's a class representative."

"Hey, wasn't that your partner for the egg experiment?" Hinata asked Kageyama loudly, looking curiously at the stammering girl. Sugawara and Kiyoko were now looking after her as well, Yachi standing a little bit behind the latter.

"Hrr, not so loud, Hinata dumbass—"

"Oh?" Tsukishima's lips pulled upward in an infuriating smirk. "You mean the one that the King always tried to run away from? Didn't you lock yourself in the storage room last week because of her?"

"Shut up, you beanpole bastard," Kageyama snapped, his cheeks going red.

"You're not hurt, right?" Tanaka asked as he and Nishinoya helped Honda to a seat.

"No," said Honda, shaking her head. These boys were so loud and scary...

"Good," Nishinoya added, grinning. "You're almost as pretty as Kiyoko...! Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you!"

"Um, ah... I'll be out of your hair soon. I just need to give Kageyama-kun something—"

The door suddenly opened again and one Makoshima Sumire walked into the gym, headphones on her ears as usual.

"Hey, baldie," she greeted Tanaka. "Hi, Noya."

An angry vein popped on Tanaka's forehead as he practically dropped Honda into her chair in favor of going over to Sumire to leer at her.

"Why does a Noya get a normal nickname, shortie?" he demanded, not unkindly. "Damn, you're annoying!"

"Because I'm Noya's favorite person," she stated, unfazed.

Tanaka whipped around to face a very amused Noya. "Bro!" he cried, mock betrayal on his face. "How could you, man? You were my li-bro."

"Sorry, but she bought me a soda flavoured gari-gari," said a not so guilty Noya. "Plus, she doesn't make cheesy volleyball puns."

"... I can't win." Suddenly, Tanaka was sitting in a corner and drawing circles on the gym floor. "Stupid short kid..."

"Sumire!" Kageyama immediately moved to her, much to everyone's amusement (save for a shocked Honda). "How's your sister? Is she okay?" he demanded, frowning.

"She's fine," Sumire said, relief evident in her voice. "Sorry I haven't showed up more often. Does anyone need me to play lib or setter?" she added to the rest of the team.

"If you're offering, sure," Daichi said, smiling. "We're about to do a six on six game so you can be the libero on one of the teams."

"'Kay."

"Well, if it isn't midget number three," Tsukishima drawled as Sumire went over to his side of the net.

"French fry," Sumire said in lieu of greeting.

"Hypocritical brat."

"Infuriating asshole."

"Hi, Makoshima-san," Yamaguchi said, breaking the insult chain.

"Yamaguchi-san," Sumire acknowledged politely. "It's good to see you again."

Honda sat silently, having been forgotten. The bento was growing cold in her hands. Vexed, she watched Sumire interact casually with most of the volleyball team members, even that scary looking third year who had been held back five years according to the gossip.

"Again, sorry about earlier," a kind voice suddenly spoke. She turned her head to see Sugawara.

"Oh, um, it's fine..."

"You said you needed to give Kageyama something, right?"

"Oh! Yes." She showed him the bento. "I noticed he doesn't always eat lunch so I decided to bring him some."

Suga blinked in surprise. "That's awfully kind of you." He gave her an amiable smile. "I'm sure that Kageyama will appreciate it. I'll make sure that he gets it."

Honda passed the bento to him. "Thank you, senpai."  _So kind! Though I kinda wanted to give it to Kageyama-kun myself..._ "Could you say it was from me, senpai?"

Suga nodded. "Of course. Do you want to stay and watch?"

Well... she'd be lying if she said she didn't, but Sumire was here and-and—

"Thanks but no thanks," she declined politely. "Good luck on your practice though."

"Ah, no worries. And thank you."

As soon as Honda was outside the gym, the doors closed behind her, she sighed in defeat.

 _It isn't over yet,_ she reassured herself. She'd just have to try harder.

* * *

"Makoshima-san?" Takashi blinked up at the girl in confusion as she entered the clubroom.

"Kishiyama-san," Naoko said, her voice levelled. "I changed my mind."

* * *

_**A/N: Here it is. The first chapter of the confession arc. Of course, like any other arc, there's gotta be some kind of story going on.** _

_**And that... is the martial arts competition.** _


	32. Serpentigenous

_Come not between the dragon, and his wrath._

—  _William Shakespeare_

* * *

The first thing Takashi did was grab her hands, a gesture that was not necessarily welcome but not reprimanded for.

"Thank you!" he cried, and Naoko could have sworn that his tears were pouring out of his eyes like twin fountains. Naoko let him cry without a sound, knowing that the club must have been desperate enough to accept her help. "Naoko-samaaaaaaa!"

Naoko stared blankly at him, unsure of what to say.

"Oi!" The door flew open and a pissed off looking teen crossed his arms at the scene. "Takashi, what's happening here?!"

"She agreed!" Takashi sobbed dramatically, a silly smile on his face even as he continued to cry tears of joy. "Shoutaaa!" Letting go of Naoko's hands, he stumbled like a drunk over to Yamada Shouta, president of the martial arts club. "Shouta, I'm so happeeeeeee—"

"Ah, gross!" Shouta recoiled in disgust as Takashi started to get snot and tears all over his gi. "Get offa me, ya bleedin' heart!"

Takashi sniffed, looking like he had been blessed. "I can't help it, I'm so happeee—"

"I get it, I get it!" Shouta hastily pushed Takashi away. "Ack... I keep forgetting what happens when you get all emotional..."

"Hey, martial arts club, is everything alright?" To Naoko's surprise, Iwaizumi popped his head around the door frame, a distinctly annoyed expression plastered on his face. "You're too loud." He blinked at the only girl in the room. "Naoko-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Iwaizumi-san, I—"

"Hey, hey!" Shouta wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Back offa here, ya hooligan! Stay away from our cute club member!"

Iwaizumi gave him an unimpressed deadpan. "Last time I checked, Naoko-chan was in the drama club."

"Well, she's an honorary member now!"

"Get off." Naoko undid his hold around her. "Don't touch me."

"You'd better not, Shouta," Takashi added with a slight grimace as the last of his tears began to dry, "my wrist still hurts from before."

"Look, just shut up, okay? The volleyball club room is just next door and we're  _trying_ to strategize—"

"Yap, yap, yap! That's all ya do, ya know?!" Shouta sized Iwaizumi, who was now standing tall in the hallway, up. "Get outta here, boy!"

"Fucking hell, the dick belongs on your body not your personality," Iwaizumi said snidely. "I don't know what makes you stupid, but it really works."

"OI! Whatcha say ta' me?!"

"Stop speaking like that," Naoko suddenly said, pointedly glaring at Shouta. "You're not a delinquent so stop acting like it."

But Shouta wasn't cowed. In fact, her words seemed to make him even more pissed off. "Hey, girlie, listen here—"

"Yoohoo!" Iwaizumi flinched as Oikawa's hand landed on his shoulder, the man himself peering around, looking as amiable as ever. "What's all the noise about? I thought you said you were going to shut these monkeys up, Iwa-chan."

"I'm getting to it," Iwaizumi said gruffly, a vein visible on his cheek.

"Monkeys?" Takashi echoed, affronted. "I know Shouta's not the nicest guy around, but—"

"Stop," Naoko said, her quiet voice drowning in a sea of other voices.

"Monkey?! Me?! You dare—"

"You know, Iwa-chan, I went to the monkey enclosure at the zoo last week and thought of this guy," Oikawa said solemnly to Iwaizumi, knowing that Shouta would be even more infuriated that he was being made irrelevant.

"Not surprising," Iwaizumi replied, playing along. "Any similarity between him and a human would be purely coincidental."

"OI!" Shouta roared, looking ready to charge at them like an angry baby rhinoceros. "WHY, I'D OUGHTA—" Unable to process more words due to his rage, he  _did_ charge at them.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi flinched, alarmed that Shouta actually got the balls to attack them like that. Grimacing, they tensed, preparing to move out of the way. And they would have had Shouta not suddenly fallen on his ass, his legs in the air.

When he was on the floor, the smaller figure of Naoko was revealed. She looked down at him indifferently. "I told you to stop."

"W-what's your problem?"

She picked him up by the shirt collar, which was quite a feat in itself considering that Shouta was way out of her league when it came to weight class. "My problem? I don't like it when you pick on my friends."

_Friends._ What an odd word. It rolled off her tongue awkwardly but the effect wasn't lost on the fallen martial artist.  _... Friends._ Her eyes flickered up to where Oikawa was standing, surprise alight in his eyes.

_"Go out with me."_

_"You don't have to answer now."_

"Yamada-san. You need me. Or your team will never win. We both know that, so drop the fucking attitude and maybe then you'll come off as civilized." Naoko released him, letting him fall to the floor with a  _thud!_

Oikawa gave her a lazy, lady-killing grin. "Mako-chan—"

"You two were no better."

"In our defense, he's a dick," Iwaizumi answered, crossing his arms.

"I don't care. Oikawa can be a dick too, yet you still tolerate him."

"I'm right here," Oikawa whined. "Don't talk as if I'm not here, Iwa-chan; Mako-chan."

"It's different," Iwaizumi said, ignoring Oikawa's protests. "Unless you want me to explain using dick sizes as an analogy—"

"I'll pass."

Iwaizumi smiled at her wryly. "Good choice."

Suddenly, Tadashi appeared, having been summoned by all the commotion. He blinked curiously at the fallen Shouta before asking, "What happened?"

Takashi seized the moment. "You see, Naoko-chan here decided to help us out by joining our team for the martial arts competition. But then Shouta and I started making a lot of noise and Iwaizumi-san and Oikawa-san showed up and then—"

"Martial arts competition?!" Tadashi's eyes widened in fear as he balked. "N-Naachan... I-I..."

"I know," Naoko said simply, walking toward him, her gaze solemn. She reached up and gently grasped his shoulder, squeezing softly. "I know what happened last time. But you see..." Her demeanor suddenly became darker. "Things were never really resolved. Izumi is entering the competition again."

"Wait, how did you know it was Izumi-san who left?" Takashi voiced, only to be ignored.

Silent, Tadashi reached up to touch his blind eye, his throat bobbing nervously. "Okay," he submitted.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something here?" Oikawa murmured to Iwaizumi, who spared him a quick glance.

"You and me both."

"Tsk." Shouta was now standing. "Damn, I hate this... I hate this so, so much. Isn't there anybody else, Takashi? I don't want this annoying wench on my team."

"Nope." Takashi shook his head. "It's her or nothing. We're out of options here. Unless another new girl who can decimate six third years shows up, which is highly unlikely considering... well, everything."

"Dammit!"

"I'm going home," Naoko announced, not really feeling up to attending her drama club activities today. "Tadashi, I'll come back later to walk you home."

Tadashi gave a small nod, removing his hand from his eye. "Okay."

* * *

"Damn, those volleyball guys really piss me off!" Shouta complained to Takashi as they changed out of their uniforms after a long and sweaty practice session.

"You're still mad?" Takashi cocked his head. "Look, I know that we've always had a bit of bad blood with the volleyball team, but chill, man."

"Tch! Don't tell me what to do."

Takashi shook his head. "You and I both know that it's only the third years that we have beef with. If you keep exploding like this, the first and second years of both clubs are going to get caught up in it too. Heck, I got caught up when I became vice."

Shouta looked around the room just to double check that none of their underclassmen were lingering about to hear their conversation.

With a grunt, he conceded, "Yeah, yeah... but they really rub my fur the wrong way. Same goes for that girl too. Who does she think she is?"

"You  _were_  kind of being a bastard to her," Takashi pointed out. "You need to learn not to take things so personally all the time." Shouta opened his mouth to protest but Takashi went on, "Don't go blaming things on the volleyball team again. Because I know that's what you were about to do."

Shouta rolled his eyes. "Whatever..."

* * *

_The crowd roared as the two finalists of the junior division stepped into the ring. Two young girls_ — _one blonde and the other raven_ — _stared each other down, their eyes cold and unfeeling._

_Both had trained until they felt that their bones would break just for this moment. The members of the audience continued to bellow and stomp their feet in anticipation, some even waving banners around._

_The kanji on the banners were either the insignias of one school or another. Two rival schools and two representatives._

_The girls may have only been ten and eleven years old, but it was a match that was bound to go down into the history books of martial arts._

_Well, that was that their senseis had said._

_And they wholeheartedly believed their masters' words._

_"Representing_ _Hebi no Gakkō, we have Chiyoko Izumi!" The announcer declared, earning some earnest cheering. "And her opponent_ — _Makoshima Naoko from the_ _Hyō no Gakkō!"_

_It was shadow versus light._

_Snake versus leopard._

_Izumi versus Naoko._

_"Chiyoko is definitely a crowd favorite and has been for years! She's been trained in the snake style since infancy and her parents are two famous martial artists! Personally, my bet's on her! If she wins today, it'll be her third win in a row!"_

_More cheering._

_The girls continued to size each other up unflinchingly._

_"On the flip side, we have Makoshima! Not much is known about her, but, from her performances in earlier rounds, she's definitely no pushover! This is her first time participating in the Miyagi Prefectural Martial Arts Tournament but she's completely decimated her opponents thus far! But how will she face up to the defending champion of the junior division: Chiyoko Izumi?"_

_"I'm going to win," Izumi suddenly declared to Naoko, knowing her voice would only carry to her ears. "I'm older, stronger, and have more experience."_

_Naoko didn't deign her with an answer. Instead, she slunk into the famed position of the leopard style._

_The announcer began to go over the rules: no eye gouging, no weapons, no hitting at the groin, no protective armor and certainly no killing. Elimination occurred when one either got tossed out of the ring, stayed down for ten seconds, or got knocked unconscious._

_Izumi observed her with calculating eyes as she sunk into her own posture. Her sensei had trained her to destroy and tear down all the popular animal kenpo styles: tiger, leopard, snake and crane. This would be over in mere minutes._

_Izumi's victory was secured._

_The announcer raised his arm. "And... BEGIN!"_

_Roaring, Izumi charged for Naoko, fists flying with scary precision. Naoko's pupils diluted as she evaded Izumi's attacks with graceful steps, parrying some of the blows when needed._

_Izumi continued to chase a silent Naoko around the stadium, growing increasingly agitated when Naoko continued to dodge. Well, she'd just have to use a little strategy, wouldn't she?_

_Slowly, Izumi pushed her toward the edge of the ring, preparing to execute a devastating attack that always worked when it came to leopard style fighters._

_Izumi struck._

_Naoko caught her hand and foot almost effortlessly._

_The crowd gasped in disbelief as Naoko mercilessly threw her to the ground belly-first, twisting her arms and legs behind her back painfully._

_The announcer quickly shook himself out of his shock and began the countdown._

_"Ten..."_

_Izumi struggled, howling furiously as she tried and failed to loosen Naoko's grip._

_How? How could this... this girl, smaller, shorter, skinner, be stronger than her?! She had been trained to decimate the tiger, the crane, the snake as well as the leopard!_

_"Nine..."_

_The blonde looked up at her instructor, expecting to see disappointment in his steely gaze. But, to her surprise, there was none._

_"Eight..."_

_And that was what scared her most._

_"Seven..."_

_Stiffly, Izumi's sensei turned to Naoko's sensei. Some kind of understanding seemed to pass between them, but Izumi's martial arts teacher was definitely not a happy camper about it._

_"Six..."_

_"Stop struggling," Naoko said monotonously, speaking to Izumi for the first time that day. "Isn't it painful?"_

_Yes, it was pretty fucking painful but like hell Izumi would give up so easily. She continued to move against Naoko to no avail._

_"Five..."_

_The crowd stared in disbelieving shock as Izumi remained pinned by the black-haired nobody. A defending champion downed by a newcomer._

_"Four..."_

_A frustrated tear slipped down Izumi's face and dropped onto the mat._

_"Three..."_

_How._

_"Two...,_

_Fucking._

_"One..."_

_Humiliating._

_She felt Naoko's weight lifted from her back._

_It was over._

_The award ceremony was a blur. Naturally, Naoko received first place, complete with a medal and whatnot. Izumi wore silver around her neck while the nameless third place winner smiled and waved._

_She wished she could be content with second place. The silver medal did shine very brilliantly._

_But second place was just a kinder way of declaring that you were the first loser. Somehow, Naoko didn't look very happy about winning gold. As if she had been forced to participate. As if winning hadn't been her goal._

_It angered Izumi even more, especially since she knew that she was no longer the top female fighter in their elementary school. It was so unfair._

_Eventually, the crowd dwindled as the sun began to set. Izumi stoically followed her sensei to their academy's bus, utterly defeated._

_"Chiyoko." She looked up to see her sensei's worn face. "You could not have won today."_

_"What?" Izumi's voice was barely above a whisper. "I-I don't understand." How?_

_"Because you weren't trained to fight against a dragon."_

_Izumi's world stopped. Stopped then started again._

_Dragon style._

_So that's what it had been._

_Makoshima Naoko might have fought among leopards..._

_But she was a dragon in heart, mind and body._

_Her sensei continued to walk to the bus with the other students, leaving Izumi to stare into the orange and pink horizon._

_"Izumi-senpai?" Naoko approached her from the stairwell, her gaze stoic as usual._

_"What?!" Izumi ground out, glaring daggers at the girl. "What do you want from me?!" Had she come to gloat about her victory?_

_Naoko stopped short in front of her before holding out her hand. "You fought well."_

_Izumi stared at the hand, slowing lifting her own_ —

_There was a resounding smack as Izumi slapped Naoko's outstretched limb away._

_"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY!" she screamed, angry tears flowing fast and hard down her face. She inhaled deeply, glowering harshly at the black-haired girl._

_Naoko remained unmoved._

_Her blank mask only served to infuriate Izumi even more._

_"I'm going to hurt you," she vowed, spitting out the words. "I'm going to hurt you."_

_"You can't. I'm stronger than you."_

_An image of Tadashi and Naoko walking home together crossed her mind. Naoko obsessed and fussed over her brother like anything._

_So what if Naoko was stronger?_

_It didn't mean that there were other ways to hurt her._

_Tadashi had graduated this year to Shiratorizawa Junior High. The bastard had won a scholarship. He was nothing but a goddamn bully, and yet_ —

_"It's not your own back that you should watch, bitch."_

_Izumi spun away from Naoko, stalking toward the waiting bus._

_She knew where she would go next._

* * *

**_A/N: There seems to be bad blood between the volleyball team and the martial arts club..._ **

**_This is probably the longest flashback yet, so take it all in._ **

**_I think that it's suitable that Naoko is a dragon and Izumi is a snake. The latter for obvious reasons and Naoko because she acts as a protector._ **


	33. Suffering in Silence

_We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love._

—  _Sigmund Freud_

* * *

A ball slammed into the wooden floor of the gymnasium.

"Nice kill, Tadashi!" Makki slapped Tadashi's back, grinning. "Told you it would work. You just need to trust Yahaba a little more, 'kay? He's no Oikawa but he can adjust the ball just as well as he can."

"I've got your back," Yahaba said earnestly. "Even with that eye of yours—"

"Which is  _super fantastic!_ " Makki slapped a hand over the young setter's mouth. "Makes you look badass as fuck."

"Like a pirate," Mattsun chimed in. "Sorta. If you squint."

Grumbling, Yahaba removed Makki's hand from his mouth. "I was thinking more on the lines of a samurai warrior."

"I vote for space pirate!" Oikawa called from the other side of the net before rolling the ball to the opposing team. "Your serve again, Mad Dog-chan!"

Kyotani served again and the ball spun through the air, landing in Iwaizumi's waiting arms. Thanks to the spin that Kyotani had put on the ball, it swerved away from Oikawa and to Kindaichi, who bumped it upward for Iwaizumi. The ace, who had been positioned in the back row, ran up and spiked a cut shot that flew through the arms of the blockers.

Once the practice match was over, the team went their separate ways, with some going out for ramen while others made their way home. Naoko, of course, was waiting at the school gates for Tadashi in some casual clothes.

"Nii-san," she said in lieu of greeting when her brother arrived. "Let's hurry. I have a shift with Umeko tonight."

They walked home, Naoko asking Tadashi how he was doing on the team, which he answered with enthusiastic replies.

"I'm glad you're happy," she told him, staring blankly ahead. "I don't know your teammates well but..." She paused before eventually settling for, "They're different."

"They are," Tadashi agreed, his voice barely above a whisper.  _Especially Oikawa._

His heart skipped a beat as he returned to memories of long ago. Of the taunting, the teasing, the mercilessly bullying—

"Nii-san?"

Naoko's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Oh, er, sorry."

"What's wrong?" she asked coolly, fixing her gray eyes on him. "Tell me."

"Nothing," he lied, feeling a pang of guilt hit is heart.  _That's all in the past. I bet Oikawa doesn't even remember._ He could never make it up to Oikawa for his actions in the past. It was best to just start fresh, which was what he had done.

Naoko kept on staring at him, studying everything about him. Then she turned away. "You're allowed to have secrets too, I suppose."

It was a surprisingly considerate thing and Tadashi smiled ever so slightly. "Th-thank you, Naachan..."  _I'm sorry. I'm sorry. For everything. I ruined our lives. Everything is my fault, not yours. You just have to suffer in silence because of me._

* * *

Come Sunday morning and the voices of the Oikawas could be heard in the autumn air.

"Stop hogging it all to yourself, Takeru!" Oikawa scolded, reaching for the boy's third watermelon slice. Scowling, Takeru took a gigantic bite out of the slice before Oikawa could even touch it. Then, to tick off his uncle even more, he licked the entire thing. Oikawa gave him a look of thinly veiled disgust. "Oh,  _real mature!_ "

Takeru stuck his tongue out at him. "Whatever, gramps! Like you can talk about being mature."

Oikawa gaped at him in disbelief. "Gramps?! What do you mean gramps?!" He pulled Takeru's cheeks. "You cheeky brat!"

"He gets it from you," Hotaru said wryly, dressed in her tracksuit. "For the supposed 'fun uncle', you sure get cranky easily, Tooru."

"I can't believe you're taking his side," Oikawa whined. "I'm your brother!"

"Yes, and this is my son. Would you like to continue pointing out the obvious?"

"Traitor!"

"You're just jealous because kaa-chan loves me better!" Takeru accused, taking another bite of his saliva-covered watermelon. "So there."

A vein popped on Oikawa's cheek. "Me? Jealous? Who do you think I am, huh?"

Takeru and Hotaru shared an amused glance, the former looking like he was going to explode with laughter at any second.

"You two are horrible."

"Love you too, nii-chan," Hotaru answered. "Oh, there's the studio. Takeru, eat that quickly, okay?"

"Okay!" In seconds, Takeru had devoured the rest of the slice in quick, neat bites, watermelon juice dribbling down his arm. "Eww. Here, Tooru." He tried to wipe the juice on Oikawa's shirt but the setter dodged just in time.

"Hah! Nice try, you brat."

Takeru shrugged before licking the juice off. "Eh. Worth a try."

"Mako-sensei will probably teach me some new kata today," Hotaru said cheerfully, a skip in her step. "She's so knowledgeable... it's so hard to believe that she's younger than you, Tooru." She flicked him on the side of the head, making him protest. "Hey, you. Where are all  _your_  accomplishments?"

"Excuse you, but I have plenty," Oikawa stated, glaring at her. "I'm topping almost all of my classes, I won the best setter award in middle school and have you even  _seen_ all the fangirls I have? And that's only a few of my accomplishments."

"So you're a nerdy manwhore that happens to know how to push a ball in the air," Hotaru corrected, smirking.

"Kaa-chan, what's a manwhore?" Takeru asked loudly, garnering some strange looks from passersby.

Hotaru blushed, grabbing Takeru's sticky hand and pulling him close to her hip. "Indoor voice, sweetie."

"But we're outside." Takeru tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Nice going," Oikawa said mockingly, clapping his hands. "And the mother of the year award... goes to Oikawa Hotaru! Taught her son what a manwhore was at eight years old."

"I will punch you," Hotaru said darkly.

"Bonus award for condoning violence in front of her child!"

"I swear, if I didn't love you so much, I'd—" She cut herself off, her eyes widening in excitement. "Mako-sensei! Hi, Mako-sensei!"

Oikawa followed his sister's gaze to see Naoko approaching the studio, her head turning when she heard Hotaru calling out.

"Good morning, Oikawa-san," she greeted Hotaru politely. "And I see you've brought your family with you."

"Yeah! Mako-sensei, this is my brother, Tooru—"

"Mako-chan!" Oikawa interjected, opening his arms and enveloping her in a bear hug, careful not to jostle her sutures too much. She stiffened beneath him before substantially relaxing. He pulled away from her and stared at her clothed arm. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," she reassured him. "You didn't. By the way, who said you had enough friendship points for random hugs without warning?"

"Well, we  _are_  friends now, right? The point system is now irrelevant."

"True, but you made up this stupid system so we're sticking to it. You're currently at fifty friendship points. Seventy are required for random out of the blue hugs."

Hotaru, dragging Takeru behind them, burst in between them. "So, I take it you already know each other? And you two seem awfully close as well..." She snuck Oikawa a suggestive glance.

"We go to the same school," Oikawa informed her, pouting. "So don't look at me like that!"

"What he said," Naoko added. "We should go inside, Oikawa-san. Classes are starting in five minutes."

"Yes, ma'am!" Hotaru gave her a mock salute before dashing inside, Takeru still attached to her hand. The boy wriggled himself out of her grip and fixed himself to Oikawa's side.

"How have you been?" Oikawa asked casually, barely acknowledging the presence of his nephew. "It doesn't hurt a lot, does it?"

Naoko shook her head. "Thankfully, no." They entered the building. "I'm getting the stitches removed next week."

"Good. Say, Mako-chan?"

"Hm?"

"You're entering the Miyagi Martial Arts competition, right? Why?"

Naoko regarded him for a few seconds. "What kind of reason are you hoping to hear from me?"

"Something that hopefully doesn't get you killed or injured," he snarked, glancing down at her wounded arm. "I can't believe they're still letting you teach."

"I'm making sure not to overexert myself. I know my own limits, Oikawa."

"Hey, nee-chan, I have a question!" Takeru piped up, blinking up at her owlishly. "What's a manwhore?!"

Again, he said the word 'manwhore' far too loudly, gaining a mixture of horrified, confused and amused expressions from randoms.

Naoko shot Oikawa a look. He proceeded to sweatdrop and wave his hands around in an attempt to defend himself. Sighing, Naoko knelt down to Takeru's level, meeting his curious gaze.

"A manwhore," she said, incredibly serious, "is hideous creature that comes out at night in order to do unspeakable things to women."

At that, Oikawa choked.

"Ohh, I see," Takeru said with an understanding nod. "That makes sense."

"What do you mean, Takeru-kun?" Naoko wondered.

Shamelessly, Takeru pointed at Oikawa, who looked like he was about to collapse in a dead faint. "Kaa-chan said Tooru was a nerdy manwhore who knows how to push balls. Tooru, what kind of unspeakable things do you do to women at night?"

"Oh, really now?" Naoko cocked an eyebrow, glancing up at a very embarrassed Oikawa. "Hey, Takeru, do me a favor and don't talk so loud, okay?"

He lowered his voice. "Is this better?"

She nodded. "It's excellent, thank you. Now, go find your mother."

As Takeru ran off, Naoko stood up to her full height and gave Oikawa a questioning look. "Do I even want to know?"

"Let us never speak of this again," Oikawa said gravely, a humongous blush on his cheeks. She bit her lip, her own face growing red. Oikawa's eyes widened. "Mako-chan—"

It was too late. Naoko burst into some honking, barking laughter, clutching her sides as she fell to her knees. "Oh—my—god—" Tears steadily streamed down her face as she continued to guffaw on the floor. Luckily, there was almost no one around, save for a very disturbed receptionist. "Fuck, Tooru—" She took in a deep breath. "I-I—hah!"

"Shut up!" Tooru huffed, picking her up by the uninjured arm. "Mako-chan, how could you?! I thought we were friends! And you laugh like a deranged hyena!" He scowled at her. "Deranged hyena! Deranged, honking hyena!"

"Pfft, haha—you dumb chihuahua!"

"Oyster! Deranged hyena!"

Eventually, Naoko calmed down. She took a deep breath as she stretched out her back. "Ohh, shit... when was the last time I laughed like that...?"

"Don't you have a class to teach?" Oikawa inquired through gritted teeth, a vein popping on his cheek, though he felt no real malice toward the girl. Yes, she laughed like a demon was emerging from her diaphragm, but the fact that she laughed at all was  _good._ _How many times does this make it? The third time?_ He had known her since June and this was only the third time he had heard her laugh.

Huh.

_Well,_ he supposed, a genuine smile on his face as he watched Naoko retreat into the studio that contained her class,  _I guess that makes it more special._ He sweatdropped as he replayed the sound of her honking laughter in his mind. It certainly wasn't cute or romantic but...

He didn't care.

_"Go out with me."_

Oh god, that had been mortifying. He hadn't been thinking properly—

_Stop thinking about that. She's probably already forgotten about it anyway._ Oikawa sighed to himself as he exited the martial arts studio, having no reason to stay any longer. Boredly, he texted Iwaizumi, Mattsun, and Makki, wondering if his friends were up for grabbing some lunch.  _You're so stupid. Why would you want to ruin your relationship with her?_ He might have been able to charm women for a living, but, if he were to be honest with himself, Makoshima Naoko was his first  _real_ female friend.

Honestly, it'd be a shame if they grew distanced because of some crush. He couldn't recall the last time he hadn't acted on his emotions when it came to girls, but there was a first for everything, he supposed.

_Yes,_ he decided. She was too precious to lose. He would be content with keeping the status quo.

Even if it meant suffering in silence.

* * *

Izumi screamed with rage as she tore into her punching bag, showing absolutely no remorse as she beat the living fucking shit out of the thing.

"Geez, someone's PMSing..." Tori's snide voice wafted through the air. "What now, princess?"

"Oh, nothing," Izumi spat. "Just—"  _Crack!_ "—taking out—"  _Bamf!_ "—my frustrations!" She turned to Tori, an almost dangerously psychotic grin on her face. "What about you, Tori?! Fucked any guys lately?!"

"Tsk, tsk... you know I'm a very selective girl," Tori purred, lighting another cigarette. They were currently in Izumi's basement, where she kept all her training equipment from long ago. When Naoko had beaten her in the tournament that day, her passion for martial arts had all but disappeared. It was only rekindled when she hit her second year of high school and joined the martial arts club after being kicked out of the music club for destroying a guitar. "You know, it's real hypocritical of you to call me a slut."

"I didn't say  _slut_."

"Oh, but you implied it." A few specks of ash fell to the ground. "Face it, you're just as prone to spreading your legs as I am. Even more so."

"Fuck you."

"Well, if you're offering—"

Izumi struck the punching bag with such force that she tore the skin of it, allowing the sand to flow out. She glared hideously at Tori, whose eyes were widened. She nearly dropped her cigarette to the ground, backpedaling away from the blonde demon.

"Are you sure you want to mess with my head now of all times?" Izumi asked, her voice dangerously soft. She held up her bandaged fist, her hair a total mess. "WELL?! DO YOU?!"

"Chill, girl," Tori muttered, sucking on her cigarette nervously. "You know, if you hurt me, my mother will—" She shuddered at the glint in Izumi's eyes. "You know what, never mind. Just keep doing your thing."

"Tch." Izumi spat at Tori's feet. The girl recoiled in disgust, inching her black boots away from the wad of saliva. "Just stay out of my way, slut."

Tori didn't respond to her jibe.

* * *

"Do you like sea urchin roe?" Kageyama suddenly asked Sumire. Kageyama, Sumire and Hinata were sitting in their usual spot, Sumire having come over from Kitagawa Daiichi to visit them for lunch.

"I've never tried it before," Sumire began, unsure of why he was asking. She recoiled when Kageyama practically shoved some strange orange food toward her face. "Tobio, what the hell?"

"Eat it," Kageyama demanded.

"Sea urchin roe?" Hinata made a face. "Yuck! I don't like that stuff either but don't force it on her, Bakageyama!"

"But I don't want to eat it," Kageyama complained, scrunching up his nose. "Hey, twig, you said you never tried it before, right? You might like it. My mom made it."

"Eat it yourself, dumbass!" Sumire cried, trying to swat his chopsticks away. "It looks like dyed chicken shit—mmmff!"

Kageyama had pushed his chopsticks—sea urchin roe and all—into her mouth when she had talked. Glaring, Sumire bit down on his chopsticks, looking smug when Kageyama tried and failed to pull his eating utensils out.

"Hey, let go!"

"Mmff!"

Hinata watched them in awe. "Uwwoohh... is this what they called public displays of affection?"

"Shut up, Hinata dumbass!" Kageyama barked, glowering harshly at the orange-haired boy.

"Mrrfgh!" Sumire said at the same time, her tone indignant as she crossed her arms.

"I said let go, you twig! You're gonna get your dirty germs all over it!"

Sumire flipped him off.

A vein became visible on Kageyama's forehead. With a sudden burst of energy, he managed to pull his chopsticks from the grip of her teeth. Reluctantly, Sumire swallowed the sea urchin roe with a shudder.

"That was a horrible, traumatizing experience," she said blandly, chugging water to wash away the lingering taste. "Now I know what Naoko-nee felt like."

"Was it that bad?" Hinata wondered. "From the outside it almost looked cute—" They glared at him and he hastily continued, "I said almost! In reality, it looked like you were trying to kill her."

From the bushes, a despondent Honda Kaede watched the scene, sighing to herself. She hadn't managed to confess to Kageyama last Friday... It was already September too. If only she could get Sumire out of the way. She was nearly one hundred percent sure now that Sumire, no matter how much she denied it, held at least some affection to Kageyama.

Her heart ached.

Her fingers twitched. She wanted Sumire to  _hurt._ To feel the same amount of heartbreak that she was feeling right about now. But how? There was no way she could manipulate Kageyama into hating her or anything...

Honda's gaze landed on Sumire's violin case.

_That's right,_ she remembered with a start. She had read an excerpt from a music magazine that month which included a brief interview with Makoshima Sumire, Makoshima Naoko, and Kuro Mai, the winner of the solo category. Sumire's interview had been the shortest, which wasn't surprising due to her rather... withdrawn nature when it came to strangers. But Honda remembered reading about one interesting little tidbit: Sumire's violin was her most prized possession. The younger girl had had it since she was small.

A plot formed in her head. She knew that she would feel ashamed of herself later, but right now she needed Sumire to hurt as much as she was hurting.

Quite as a mouse, she pulled out her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts before choosing one.

"Hello? Taiga-chan? Yes, it's me, your nee-chan. Is Jun'ichi-kun with you?"

_"What do you want?"_ Her younger half-sister, Koharu Taiga, mumbled into her phone.  _"I'm in the middle of savoring some delicious sushi if you don't mind!"_

"Sorry—"

_"I'll put my brother on the phone, 'kay?"_

Almost immediately after that, a familiar male voice sounded.  _"Kaede-nee? That you?"_

"Yes. Jun'ichi-kun, I need you and Taiga-chan to do me a favor..."

 


	34. Shattered Peace

_Jealousy contains more of self-love than of love._

—  _Francois de La Rochefoucauld_

* * *

In a classroom filled with yummy foods belonging to various classmates, Koharu Taiga sullenly chewed her sushi as she watched her twin brother, Koharu Jun'ichi, chat to their half-sister on the phone.

"Makoshima Sumire...? Uh, I've never heard of her. Are you sure she goes to Kitagawa?" her brother was saying, running his fingers through his messy brown hair in a way that drove the girls in their class wild.

"Oh, give me that," Taiga scoffed, slapping her chopsticks on the table and snatching her phone back from Jun'ichi. "You're such an idiot, bro... though I can't really blame you on this one. Hey, nee-chan? It's Taiga again."

_"Oh! Um, Taiga-chan_ — _"_

"Cut the crap," Taiga interrupted, rolling her eyes even though she knew that there was no way that Kaede had any way of seeing the action. "What do you want with Makoshima?"

As far as Taiga knew, Makoshima Sumire was a second year who attended Kitagawa Daiichi. She was in the music club, where she played violin, though one would have to actively search for her in order to even notice her.

To put it simply, the girl was a wallflower. Taiga wouldn't have even registered her existence had she not been in the music club with Sumire.

Her brother, on the other hand, was a member of the soccer club, so there really wasn't any way that Jun'ichi could have known her.

Taiga listened dutifully as her sister poured out her heartfelt tale, keeping her face emotionless as to not draw any unwanted attention.

_"... So now you know,"_ Kaede concluded sadly. Taiga could almost see her hanging her head like a hen left out in the rain.

"And what do you want us to do about it?" Taiga asked coolly, cocking an eyebrow. She gestured to Jun'ichi to get him to lean in a little closer. Then, making sure there wasn't anyone within close vicinity, Taiga put Kaede on speaker.

"Fill me in later," Jun'ichi said to Taiga, who nodded.

Kaede began to speak again, and this time, Taiga had a hard time keeping herself from nearly exploding with disbelief.

"You want us to what?!" she hissed into the phone. "That's... cruel."

_"I thought you might say that..."_ Kaede mused on the other end.  _Have you forgotten what happened at last year's Christmas gathering? Eleven years old and making out with a boy on the couch..."_

Taiga snarled; actually snarled like a beast would. "God, you know that was the worst mistake of my life, going to that stupid Christmas party..." One moment, she had been talking with her crush, then he had stuck his tongue down her throat. The next day, he was off kissing another girl, the bastard.

_"Couples get younger every time, don't they?"_ Kaede giggled obnoxiously.  _"And same goes for Jun'ichi-kun... I know all the bad things you've done. And while kaa-san doesn't know, that could easily be changed."_

Taiga and Jun'ichi exchanged a disbelieving glance. Was their sister seriously blackmailing them into bullying an innocent girl right now?

And everyone thought that Honda Kaede was the good girl. How wrong they were. While Honda Kaede could indeed act nice, sweet and whatnot, she could just as easily be conniving and wicked.

It wasn't a side that the twins saw often but...

"Fine," Jun'ichi agreed before Taiga could say anything. The girl twin gave him a venomous glare which he ignored. "We'll do it."

_"Thank you so much!"_

As soon as Kaede hung up, Taiga slammed her hands on Jun'ichi's desk, gaining a few momentary looks from their classmates.

"Well?" she said. "We're not actually gonna go through with this, are we? I'm not that mean!" Sure, she had put a few nasty messages in the lockers of other girls before, but this was a whole new other level. To actually steal and damage Makoshima's violin beyond repair...

That was just monstrous.

"We have to," Jun'ichi muttered. "We were eleven and stupid, but kaa-san—"

"Jun! That woman is not our mother," Taiga snapped. "Our  _real_  mother is dead. Are you trying to replace her?"

"Of course not!" Jun looked horrified. "But... I'm scared of Honda-san. She gets violent when she gets mad..."

Taiga shuddered involuntarily. Her brother was right. Her shoulder still throbbed from their last beating.

"Fine." Taiga sighed in defeat. "We'll do it." She bit her lip. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it! She's always the first inside the club room after school, so I'll distract her while you sneak inside and take her violin, okay? I'm not sure if I want to do it now... tomorrow?"

Jun nodded, guilt already evident in his eyes. "Okay."

* * *

"So, little girl, think you can take me on?" Shouta taunted, getting into a stance.

He and Naoko were currently facing off in one of Aobajosai's gyms, seeing as they didn't have a dojo.

Naoko didn't reply. She never did when it came to matches. She continued to watch him, waiting for his concentration to lapse as he taunted her with his rough, abrasive voice.

"Yamada-senpai is so cool!" The underclassmen cheered, some tears trailing down their cheeks due to their excessive admiration. "Go, Yamada-senpai!"

_There it is._

Thanks to the distraction the underclassmen provided, Shouta's eyes drifted to them for one split second.

It was all that she needed.

Naoko was a black blur as she launched herself at Shouta.

_Body blow. Always start off with a body blow if you can._

Her fist aimed for his gut, but he managed to block her strike just before it landed. She quickly moved out of his range, stepping lightly on her toes.

Shouta attacked. She evaded.

Then she struck again, somehow managing to get beneath his feet and flipping him over her back. He landed on his side and rolled away from her incoming kick, standing upright again in a flash.

"Uwoohh!" The underclassmen gasped, watching the two fighters dance about the stage. Takashi smirked to himself and pushed his glasses up.

"You see here, first and second years? This is the top two members of the Aobajosai team battling it out!"

"Does that you mean you're last, senpai?" said one particularly plain speaking first year.

Takashi sweatdropped, visibly trying not to let the comment get to him. "... Only out of the team, yes! Just look at all the rest of you! I'm the Jack and the rest of you are plain numbers."

Well, he had a point. Even if the playing cards analogy was a little harsh if anything.

"Enough!" Shouta suddenly commanded, lowering his arms. Naoko stopped in her run toward him, wary. "I've seen enough. You're definitely good. Maybe even better than... that traitorous witch."

_Izumi._ She had almost forgotten about the scheme that Tori and Izumi were involved in. Key word being  _almost_.  _Should I tell Yamada and Kishiyama?_ They deserved to know, didn't they? They were part of the competition too.

But this was personal.

Shouta and Takashi were only there for her convenience. She would have to face them sooner or later, even if they were on the same team. There could only be one winner, though those who entered as part of a team would get further recognized.

_Avoid the coffee machine and the bottled sports drinks._

She didn't need to tell them, and yet—

"Hey." They turned to her.

"What?" Shouta asked gruffly.

"Avoid the coffee machine and the bottled sports drinks if you can," Naoko informed him. "That goes for you too, Kishiyama-san."

"Why?"

Naoko didn't reply—she flung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the gym, ignoring Shouta's aggravated shouting.

_This is personal. I only told them as a courtesy, not an obligation. If they don't want to listen, fine. It'll only work in my favor._

"Naoko-chan?" Naoko turned to see that Iwaizumi had noticed her as she had walked past their gym. For some reason, the doors were open, despite the ever present danger of rabid fangirls ruining practice.

"Iwaizumi-san? What is it?" she queried as he jogged to her, stopping just short of her.

"Do you know where your brother is?"

She frowned, alarm raising the hairs on the back of her neck. "Isn't he with you?"

Iwaizumi shook his head. "He never showed up to practice."

Naoko released a sigh. "I'll call him—"

"Already did that," said the steadfast Iwaizumi. "He answered but he won't tell me where he is."

"He'll tell me," Naoko said, sure of it. "Tadashi wouldn't lie to me."

"If you're sure," Iwaizumi said, still having some doubts. "It's already pretty late so he doesn't have to show up for practice. But it'd be nice if he gave us a little warning next time."

"I understand." She grimaced as she pulled out her phone. "And I'll make sure that he does as well."

* * *

How does one write a confession note?

It was one of the many questions that Makoshima Tadashi was bemoaning over at this very moment. He tried not to be so loud about it. Sumire was in the other room after all, and it was best not to disturb her with whatever she was currently doing.

Wait!

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to confess through a note. That was such a... cowardly thing to do. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Tadashi sighed. Yep, scrap the confession note idea. He would have to tell him face to face to get the message across, wouldn't he?

Maybe he should buy him chocolates?

Tadashi shook his head. No; he would buy Oikawa chocolates when Valentine's Day rolled around in February.

"Bro, are you okay in there?" The wall separating Tadashi and Sumire's room were pretty thin, so Sumire's words reached his ears easily.

"Fine," he lied, swivelling around in his chair before letting out another sigh. Sighing. It was a thing that he had come to do quite often.

"If you're sure," Sumire replied. He heard her bed creak, indicating that she was getting back to her own business.

Another sigh escaped from Tadashi's mouth. The words came to his head but he wasn't sure if he could ever speak them out loud to Oikawa.

_"Oikawa-kun, I like you very much. Would you like to go out with me?"_

It was a classic and simple confession: the best kind. Right?

Well, it might have been classic and simple but it was also extremely difficult to say to the person you liked. Especially when that person was Oikawa, who Tadashi wasn't even sure liked guys. The brunet setter was almost always surrounded by girls, though that habit of his had died down considerably when he and Naoko entered his life.

Oikawa could be bisexual, right? Whether he swung one way or another, Tadashi just had to hope with all his heart that it wasn't toward the shoe box. And if he was...

Tadashi just needed to hear it from him.

He checked his phone for the time. Iwaizumi had called not long ago, demanding his location. Of course, Tadashi had been far too wary to give it to him. What if the ace started asking other questions? Other  _more personal_ questions.

But Iwaizumi... he was trustworthy. The father and mother of the team. Everybody's rock.

Tadashi bit his lip.

It... It wouldn't hurt to confide in Iwaizumi, right?

Before he could change his mind, he tapped on Iwaizumi's contact, preparing to send him a text. Or, at least he would have had his phone suddenly not started buzzing. Tadashi nearly dropped the device before answering the call with shaky hands.

"Hello?"

_"Nii-san, where are you?"_  Naoko's serious voice resonated on the other end.

"S-sorry, I'm at home right now..." He could hear her sigh in relief.

_"Okay, good. You had me really worried, Tadashi-nii."_

"I'm fine, Naachan. Sorry for skipping on practice."

_"It's not me you have to apologize to,"_  Naoko replied sternly.

"I know. I'll apologize to Iwaizumi."

_"You do that. I have to go to work now. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you haven't eaten yet. Do you remember how to use the microwave? Also, heat something up for Sumire as well."_

"I remember," Tadashi placated her. "And I will."

_"I'll see you in a few hours."_

"Bye."

When she hung up, Tadashi moved over to his bed and started to text Iwaizumi, knowing that practice would be over around this time.

* * *

"Makoshima-senpai?" Taiga tapped Sumire on the shoulder, smiling. "Why don't you leave your violin case here in the music room?"

Sumire blinked at her, her gaze spiritless.

"It'd be easier for you," Taiga continued. Guilt clawed at her heart but she soldiered on. "Everybody else does it."

"Well..." Sumire hesitated.  _It_ would  _be easier... it's not easy hauling this around all the time, especially when biking to Karasuno._ "Do you really think so?"  _Why is she suddenly asking me?_

"Sorry," Taiga suddenly apologized. "It's just... whenever I see you lugging it around all the time, it makes my shoulders feel heavy." She laughed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry you have to feel like that, but I'm going to continue carrying it around," Sumire refused her politely.  _Should have known that she was only acting concerned for personal gain._

"Ne, Makoshima-san!" A boy peeked around the doorway. Koharu Jun'ichi from the soccer team. "The careers adviser wants to see you!"

"Oh." Sumire set down her violin. "Could you look after this for me, Koharu-san? I'll be back in a few minutes."  _She'd better not be gone when I get back. Lunch won't be over for a while so she's got plenty of time to gossip or whatever._

"Sure thing," Taiga said sweetly, waving to Sumire as she disappeared from the room and down the hallway. "... Oh god, this is so wrong," she moaned into her hands as Jun came and picked up Sumire's violin case, the instrument still inside.

"We gotta do what we gotta do," Jun said with a sigh. "Come on, let's destroy it."

"She'll know it was us," Taiga pointed out as they fled through the corridor in the opposite direction Sumire had gone.

"Who cares? It's not like she can do anything about it. It's her word against ours."

"If you're sure..."  _Fucking fuck! Isn't this called malicious damage or something?! What if she makes us pay her back?_ Taiga nearly tripped over her feet as she thought of the consequences of their actions.  _I can't do this! I can't!_

They stopped at the end of the corridor, where they were alone.

"I'll smash it against the wall," Jun suggested, opening the case and removing the beautiful violin and bow. "Damn, this must have been pretty expensive. The Makoshimas must be rich to afford this. See, nee-chan? It means that they'll probably take care of the expenses themselves. Makoshima-san has to be a rich girl with parents who spoil her and don't beat her. It's probably why she's so aloof all the time. Comes from her arrogance."

"I seriously don't think that's right." Taiga put her hands on her hips. "Why don't we go up to the roof and drop the violin from there? I feel like it's more dramatic that way." She forced a smirk on her face. "What do you think, Jun?"

"Fine, but we'd better hurry. Luckily the fencing around the roof doesn't get done until next week."

It was a totally illegal move to go up to the roof, as it was with many other schools, but considering they were on a mission to destroy a girl's pride and joy, who the hell cared?

They arrived on the roof and Taiga felt the guilt gnawing away at her even more.  _I can't do this... I seriously can't! This is so wrong!_ But then Kaede would... She shook her head.  _Who cares what Kaede will tell her kaa-san?! I'd rather be beaten again than... than do this! I don't think I could live with myself_ —

"You ready?" Jun said, grimacing as he suspended the violin and bow over the tall railing. He was just tall enough to do so.

"Wait!" Taiga shouted, wringing her hands. "Don't do it."  _Dammit!_

"What? Don't you remember what Kaede said—"

"I know what she said!" Taiga hissed, clenching her fists into tight balls, her knuckles turning white. "But I can't go through with this! I'd rather be hit again than do this! It's wrong and  _criminal_!"

"... I..." Jun turned away. "I'm sorry, but... I'm scared—"

"Don't you fucking dare!" A voice shouted.

The twins turned around to see an angry demon of a girl at the rooftop door. Makoshima Sumire. She looked like she had been running.

_She probably has been,_ Taiga realized. Sumire would have discerned that she had been duped and rushed around the school looking for the two troublemakers.

But it seemed that she had energy left to spare. She ran toward them, pure distress on her face.

"Jun, don't do it," Taiga warned, tense.  _Please, Jun!_

Sumire reached them and tried to grab the instrument from Jun's outstretched arm. "Please! Give it back!" While Sumire might have been a second year and Jun a first year, the latter was still considerably taller, stronger and broader than the former. "Please! You don't know what it means to me!"

"Jun!" Taiga shouted, seeing that Jun was simply standing there and pushing Sumire away.  _Jun, please! For me!_

There was a pained look in Jun's eyes. Was saving this violin really worth getting beaten up again by their evil stepmother?

"Give it back!" Sumire was screaming, her voice growing shrill with panic. "Please, don't—"

No, it wasn't.

Jun let go.

Taiga felt the world slow down as she watched the precious, sleek instrument fall from the very top of the building, tossing and turning in the air—

Sumire's shouts grew increasingly anguished, her pupils dilated. She tried to reach over the tall railing for it and would have fallen over herself had Jun and Taiga not grabbed her last minute, the latter just managing to snap out of her trance. Sumire continued to reach for her violin as the upper half of her body dangled over the side of the building, as if by some force she could magically summon it back into her hands.

Taiga squeezed her eyes shut and looked away. If only she could cover her ears as well—

_Crack!_

Too late.

* * *

_Crack!_

Naoko struck the sandbag with all her might, her arms bandaged from the base of the fingers to her elbow.

Across the martial arts club room, she could see Shouta nodding in approval from her peripheral vision, Takashi animatedly yapping in Shouta's ear.

For a brief moment, Naoko stopped her flurrying attacks to stare at one bandaged fist. She could almost feel Izumi's cheekbone cracking beneath her knuckles, her soft flesh bruising from the impact.

She opened her fist before clenching it again, continuing to assault the punching bag.

On her last punch, she ripped the sandbag open; a gigantic tear that not even Shouta could have produced now marred the punching bag.

The martial arts club president's jaw slackened.

Takashi's glasses nearly fell of the bridge of his nose as he let out a low whistle, impressed. "Well, damn. I don't think even you could do that, Shouta."

"The thing is old," Shouta grumbled, unwilling to accept the fact that Naoko had just outdone him in that single punch. "That's probably why..."

But Takashi was already rushing up to Naoko. "That was awesome!"

"Thank you," Naoko said listlessly. "Can I go now? I haven't eaten lunch yet." She hadn't, really. In fact, she'd been attacking that poor sandbag since the beginning of lunch under Shouta's instructions.

"Yeah, yeah, just go," Shouta said gruffly, waving his hand in dismissal.

Takashi smirked at him as Naoko disappared into the changing rooms to change back into her school uniform. "Is someone jealous?"

"Shut up,  _Takoshi_!"

"Hey! I'm not an octopus!"

* * *

"Where the hell is she?" Kageyama muttered as he ate the contents of his bento. It had been fifteen minutes at Sumire still hadn't arrived at Karasuno for lunch.

"Maybe she got stuck in traffic," Hinata suggested, eating an onigiri.

"Dumbass! She rides a bike here!"

"There could be bike traffic too," Hinata protested. "Bakageyama!"

Kageyama's phone buzzed and he instantly checked it.

There was a single text from Sumire.

* * *

**LINE: DUMBASS**

[Makoshima]: I'm not coming.

* * *

"Eh, why not?" Hinata whined, having peeked over Kageyama's shoulder to read the text. "She's fun to have around... funner than you, Bakageyama."

Kageyama scowled at the text, ignoring Hinata. "She'd better have a good explanation for this."

* * *

_**A/N: Trust me, Kags, she does.** **Also, if anyone's confused, "tako" is octopus.** _

 


	35. Omake One: Tadashi

_**Akira's Lucky Rock** _

Young boys laughed as they marched alongside the babbling river, sticks in their hands and up in the air. An imaginary banner flapped in the wind, attached to Tadashi's stick as he led his team of grade school volleyball boys around the town.

"Okay, we stop here!" Tadashi declared, raising his stick even higher, a smile on his face. His eyes shone brightly as he observed the area. Nearby, there was a little used bridge that smelled a little weird. There were also some damaged sewer pipes sticking out of the hill.

"So gross," said his best friend, Akira, though he was still smiling from their travels down the river.

"Which is why I picked it," Tadashi said boastfully, dropping his stick onto the marshy ground. His pale blonde hair was tousled and there was a gap between his teeth in which in two front teeth had fallen off. The perfect picture of childhood innocence.

Makoshima Tadashi, at this moment, was nothing more than a young, adventurous boy hanging out with his friends. They were all the same age—or nearly the same age—as him. Ten and eleven years old, the majority finishing up their final year in elementary school.

"Lets lay down the picnic blanket," Akira suggested, ever the loyal wingman. Their friends began to do as they were told, talking excitedly amongst themselves. The blanket was lay down quickly and the group of boys instantly sat down upon it. The ground beneath was far too soft for comfort but none of that complained, even when it felt like the marshy riverbank would swallow them up.

Tadashi rubbed his hands together, grinning in anticipation like a Cheshire Cat. "Alright, first things first... presents!"

"Happy birthday, Tadashi!" His friends all cried, their words overlapping as they all presented him their gifts.

It was sweet really. Tadashi smiled again, this time softer. Every single one of his friends had bought him a present.

_... They really are my true friends,_ he thought, feeling his heart grow warm.

"Thank you, everyone," he said gratefully, watching with watery eyes as the boy's set down their presents in front of him. He lowered his gaze, trying to pretend that he was examining the quality of their parcels. Like hell he would ever let them see him cry. Not even Akira had that privilege yet.

As soon as the tears went away without falling from his eyes, Tadashi got to opening the presents. There was no cake, but some of the boys had brought snacks from home in plastic bags.

"Whoaaa! Latest ultraman figure?!" Some might argue he was getting a little too old for that kind of stuff, but he was absolutely smitten with the Japanese television series. "Thanks, Shirou!"

All of the gifts were very interesting, but the ultraman figure only had one contender as favorite gift: Akira's "lucky rock".

Basically, it was a rock with the kanji for Akira's name, "luck", and "rock" scribbled on it.

"At least try to hide the permanent marker," one boy said to Akira, fond exasperation in his voice.

"Akira, so kind!" Tadashi cried, hugging the rock close to him. "This was the best birthday ever...!"

"I'm glad." Akira grinned. "When you feel down, just look at that rock and think of me, okay?"

_I will,_ Tadashi silently answered.  _I know that you'll always be by my side, Akira._

_After all..._

_You're my best friend._

* * *

Years later, Naoko discarded the rock. Since then, it remained in the local landfill.

* * *

_**A/N: The first omake! Because every anime fanfic needs one and I had enough time on my hands to write this but not a full chapter.** _

**_Definitely inspired by Vasco's Birthday in the webtoon Lookism. It's seriously great and addresses a lot of major issues._ **

**_Don't remember who Akira is? Go back to chapter ten._ **


	36. Omake Two: Sumire

_**Letting Go** _

On the fifth of May, the bus bumped and bumbled as it veered away from the traffic and off-road. The transition was hardly smooth and it knocked Sumire's old, beat-up headphones off her ears. As soon as it hit the floor, her worn headphones snapped in half, the padding falling out and all.

Sumire was more annoyed that she didn't get to finish her song than anything else. She had a newer set of headphones back at home—a birthday present from her parents two years ago.

"Hey, kid, you alright back there?" the bus driver asked, his voice raspy.

She understood why he was concerned. After all, she was eleven years old and sitting all alone in a near-empty bus with only her music as company.

Not even that, actually, now that her headphones had been decimated.

"I'm fine," Sumire replied, turning her head to see if the old lady at the back had woken up from the crude, unpolished road. No, she was still snoring away, her head bouncing side to side as the wheels on the bus continued to turn with as much as grace as an elephant in skates. "Too bad that my headphones aren't, though."

"Ah, shame... want me to put on a song for you? It's in English but it's good. A smart girl like yourself should be able to get the gist of it."

Sumire contemplated on her answer for a few moments before deciding, "Sure, if you don't mind." She had nothing better to do anyway. Not until she arrived at where she needed to be.

"It'll be my pleasure, kid."

The bus driver controlled the vehicle with one hand as he used his other limb to fumble for the stereo. Eventually, he put the song on, though not before he nearly gave Sumire a heart attack from his clumsy driving.

She hoped that it would be worth it in the end. That the song would suit her taste as well as his.

Outside, the buzz of cicadas grew increasingly louder as the forest became thicker, indicating that they were entering the countryside.

Absentmindedly, Sumire adjusted her sun hat as the stereo began to splutter to life.

It continued to splutter before the vocals suddenly became crystal clear.

_"Wise men say..."_

_Oh._

_It's this song,_ Sumire thought. Her parents used to love listening to this song, especially her father. She didn't know how they even knew of it to begin with but she wasn't complaining.

_"Only fools rush in,"_ the bus driver sang along, his voice sounding as creaky as his bones.  _"But I can't help falling in love with you."_

Sumire hummed the song underneath her breath, looking outside the window as trees and foliage mashed together in one green blur.

A loud snore and grumble indicated the lady at the back was not having such a peaceful sleep after all.

As she watched the world pass by, she began to sing along as well,  _"Like a river flows surely to the sea..."_

From the rearview mirror, the bus driver fixed his twinkling eyes on Sumire for the briefest moment.

_"Darling so it goes,"_ the stereo spat out.  _"Some things are meant to be."_

It was quite the sappy song but Sumire didn't mind. It reminded her of lazy summer days. Back when the world made sense.

When she, Naoko and Tadashi would run up to their parents' porch after a day of playing around the town and demand watermelon slices from them to cool their bodies, homeostasis be damned.

She wasn't blind. She could see how coldly their mother treated Tadashi, the son that had come from her husband's first marriage. But despite the bumps in the road, they had been quite the happy family.

They were taken away far too soon.

Sumire didn't realize that she was crying until she felt something wet dribble down her neck. Embarrassed, she started to wipe her tears away, hoping the bus driver wouldn't notice.

_"Take my hand,"_ the bus driver sang,  _"take my whole life too."_

Her nose started to grow stuffy but she didn't care. She opened her mouth to sing with the old man.  _"For I can't help falling in love with you."_

The bus driver smiled as they sang the final verse.

_"For I can't help falling in love with you."_

Surely, he must have seen her cry by now. Frustrated, she continued to try and dry her tears, her hands becoming slick and shiny.

"No need to be shy," the bus driver said heartily as they reached Sumire's stop at the local cemetery. "I don't care if you cry or not. It's a beautiful song."

"It is," Sumire agreed. "But I shouldn't be—"

"Save it," the bus driver interrupted, his smile gentler this time. "Sometimes, we get tired. We reach the limits of our strengths, and we just let go. Never be afraid to let yourself go, kid."

"... Thank you."

* * *

Sumire knelt in front of her parents' gravestones, staring blankly at the ground.

"I miss you sometimes," she said slowly, her eyes tracing patterns in the stale earth. "We all do. Even when she says she doesn't have time to care, she still misses you. Despite her hard exterior, Naoko-nee has a really big heart. It just makes it all the harder for the bruises to heal."

She pressed her forehead against the earth, her long hair falling around her face. She would need to get it cut soon.

Taking in a big breath, she began to weep freely.

She had reached the limit of her strength.

For now, it was time to let go.

* * *

_**A/N:** _ _**Now you all know where the quote from chapter 6 is from...** _


	37. Crushed Flowers

_There are souls which fall from heaven like flowers, but ere they bloom are crushed under the foul tread of some brutal hoof._

—  _Jean Paul_

* * *

Sumire watched with horror as her violin hit the ground, smashing into pieces. In her brain, the image kept replaying in a never ending loop. With her mind's eye, she could observe every single bit of her violin fly into different directions, scattering on the concrete below.

There was a pull and Sumire found herself being hauled away from the railing, eyes still wide. The twins, who had been supporting her arms, loosened their grip, letting her fall to the tiling on her butt.

She planted her palms beside her, panting heavily.

The brown-haired girl's eyes—Taiga, was it? Her psyche was running too fast and wild to remember—were swimming with guilt. She opened her mouth to speak, "Makoshima—"

Her headspace still a white, buzzing thing, she staggered upright and ran to the rooftop, tripping and scratching her knees on the hard surface. Her kneecaps and shins stung but she pushed herself back up again and raced downstairs, pushing past students.

"Hey, watch it!"

"We're walking, if you don't mind!"

"Eep! Thanks for catching my bento, Sakura-chan!"

The voices went in one ear and out the other for Sumire as her short hair flapped behind her.

 _No, no, please no, don't let this actually be happening_ —

She collided into someone, sending them both flying. But Sumire could hardly care less about the angry boy that she had pinned beneath her. Without even apologizing, she got up again and sprinted down the corridor, her legs shaking with the effort. Sumire was hardly the fittest person around and her energy had already been spent looking for the twins. The girl was solely relying on adrenaline at this point.

Behind her, Taiga and Jun'ichi gave chase.

"Outta the way!" Taiga snapped, her voice a few octaves higher than normal. "Move, move, move!" A few of the girls Taiga had bullied before cringed and pressed themselves against the walls, not wanting to be targeted again.

Sumire nearly fell again as she rounded a corner, her shoes screeching against the floor. She lurched forward before regaining her balance, pumping her legs even harder as she caught sight of an exit.

"Makoshima, wait!" Taiga called. She glared at Jun. "This is all your fault!" Without waiting for a response, she left her brother in the dust, years of being in the track team back in elementary coming into play.

Sumire practically took the door off its hinges as she slammed her entire body into it, flinging herself outside. Her landing was wobbly but she quickly corrected herself, running to where her violin had landed with that sickening crack.

She nearly ran into a tree. All she could see right now was her violin falling over and over again.

 _Where is it?!_ she screamed to herself.  _Where the fuck is it_ —

Sumire screeched to a halt, the abrupt halt nearly knocking her off her feet. In horror and disbelief, she stared down at the broken pieces of her violin, the one thing that she had had since young.

This couldn't be happening.

It really couldn't be.

It was all just a bad dream.

The patter of footsteps sounded behind her but Sumire didn't even turn, her gaze fixed on the shattered instrument that lay pathetically before her. She sunk to her knees just as Jun caught up with Taiga, who was now loitering behind a hunched over Sumire.

With trembling arms, she reached for scroll and neck, which had separated from the main body from the impact. The strings—those fine, beautiful strings—had detached from the fingerboard and were curled up like the perfectly groomed whiskers of a pedigree cat. Still shaking, she dropped the broken piece, her eyes hollow as she watched it fall a short distance to the ground.

This couldn't be happening.

This wasn't real.

Behind her, Taiga looked like she wanted to say something but was too scared and ashamed to do so. Jun put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched away from him, glaring harshly. She hissed at him, making him recoil. She knew that he was as remorseful as she was. So what?

After abandoning the scroll and neck, Sumire was now holding the violin's main body. Or, well, part of it anyway. Aside from the scroll and neck, this was the biggest piece—the lower bout; complete with one scratched up chinrest, a tailpiece that was hardly attached, and a skewed bridge.

Numbly, she held the lower bout close to her heart, picking up the neck and scroll again and doing the same. Still on her knees, her entire body began to quiver as the back of her eyeballs stung with oncoming tears, reality finally catching up to her.

 _Sometimes we get tired, we reach the limits of our strengths, and we just let go,_ someone had told her once.

_Because life demands too much, and the people around you aren't always aware of everything that you give for nothing._

Taiga tried to summon words but none came. She stood stone still, as if she could hardly believe what was unfolding before her herself.

As the first sob wracked Sumire's shoulders—she cradled the pieces of her broken violin to her chest—Taiga's knees nearly buckled before her. She grabbed her brother's shoulder and squeezed tightly.

Sumire screamed into the bits and pieces of her broken instrument, gripping the smashed wood so hard with her arms that the sharp ends threatened to puncture the skin of her abdomen and chest.

The sunny afternoon didn't let up as Sumire continued to wail, her eyes squeezed shut even as hot tears poured down her face in fat, wobbly drops, pooling at her chin and trailing down her neck and beneath her uniform shirt. Certain spots on the white collar of her formerly pristine blouse grew darker as it became stained with tears.

Taiga bit her lip, shifting her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. She didn't think she could watch this any longer. She turned away, pulling Jun with her. "Come on. Let's go."

He looked at her confusedly. "But Taiga—"

"Haven't we done enough?" she spat at him, fury in her eyes. "What the hell makes you think she'll want us here?" Taiga tried not to raise her voice in fear that Sumire might overhear their talk.

Silently, Jun let Taiga lead him back to the school.

Sumire's heartbroken cries grew softer and softer as they distanced themselves from her.

* * *

**LINE: IWAIZUMI AND MAKOSHIMA**

[Makoshima]: Iwaizumi, you there?

[Makoshima]: I need to talk to you about something

[Makoshima]: I was going to tell you last night but I lost the courage

[Makoshima]: sorry

[Iwaizumi]: wait what

[Iwaizumi]: hey sorry, I was helping my mom cook

[Makoshima]: oh kk

[Iwaizumi]: what did you need to tell me?

[Makoshima]: it's about Oikawa

* * *

In the Iwaizumi household, Iwaizumi Hajime nearly dropped the egg he was about to crack. He glanced over at his mother, who was humming as she trimmed the fat off some pork belly.

"Okaa-chan, I need to call my friend," Iwaizumi announced, careful not to startle her since she was holding a knife. "Can I go to the living room? I'll help you after."

"Go ahead," his mother said, not even looking up from the meat she was preparing. "But could you send your brother down here? He can finish up what you've already done."

After calling down his irritable gamer kid brother from his League of Legends game, Iwaizumi collapsed onto the couch in front of the television.

"Hajime," his brother complained. "Why can't you call your friend later?"

"Why can't you pause your stupid game?" Iwaizumi retorted, cocking an eyebrow.

"You can't pause League of Legends!" his brother shouted back, shaking a fist at Iwaizumi as he sullenly made his way to the kitchen. "Don't you know anything?!"

"The day I'll even consider bothering with your games is when you can properly receive one of my serves."

His brother continued to grumble under his breath, muttering curses. "Hey, okaa-chan, I'm here! What do you need me to do?"

Once his nuisance of a brother was busied with the task of cracking eggs for tonight's dinner, Iwaizumi called Tadashi, patiently waiting for him to pick up.

 _He wants to talk about Shittykawa, huh?_ Iwaizumi mused. Well, this was going to be interesting. And it certainly couldn't be done over text, hence why Iwaizumi was currently calling his former childhood nemesis.

 _"Hello? Iwaizumi, is that you?"_ Tadashi's voice buzzed on the other end. It sounded like he was doing a lot of moving around.

"Yeah. You said you wanted to talk about Oikawa, right?"

_"A-ah, y-yeah..."_

"Go ahead then," Iwaizumi coaxed, trying to sound as nonthreatening as possible. Tadashi was easily spooked, as he demonstrated multiple times. It was a bloody miracle that the guy didn't run off the court every time a ball came to him.

 _"Iwaizumi..."_ Iwaizumi could almost imagine Tadashi's throat bobbing up and down in fear.

 _Fear of what?_ he wondered. His heart nearly stopped when he considered a possibility.  _Is he finally going to talk about what happened back in grade school?_ That would be strange. Tadashi always gave off the impression that he couldn't remember a single thing from his childhood. So why would he suddenly talk about it now?

 _"Iwaizumi..."_ Tadashi's breath hitched.  _"I... like Oikawa."_

Everything went so quiet that Iwaizumi could almost hear a pin drop. There were a few voices coming from the kitchen where his mother was exasperatedly trying to teach her younger son the correct way to crack and egg without getting all the shell mixed in with the rest.

"You can't be serious," Iwaizumi deadpanned.  _What the fuck? What the actual fuck?_ That was probably the last thing he had been expecting to hear come out of Tadashi's mouth.  _Is there a name for situations like this? Like Stockholm Syndrome? No wait, that's when a victim feels trust or affection toward their captor._ The point was, this was ridiculous enough to be considered a syndrome like Stockholm.

A bully falling for their victim... this sounded like something that just jumped right out of an anime or manga. Iwaizumi's lips quirked upward. Or—heck, even a fanfiction!

 _"I am serious,"_ Tadashi affirmed, a small waver in his voice.

_What the hell does he even see in Asskawa?_

While Oikawa could be a bastard at times, he was a genuinely good person. However, he didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to relationships. And as far as Iwaizumi knew—and he knew a lot since he was Oikawa's main confidant—Oikawa had never shown any interest in males. There would be some offhand comments about how cute Hinata looked when he was mad or how Kageyama's scowl was definitely inherited from Iwaizumi (how that worked he had no idea) or how Tsukishima would gain more female attention if he stopped looking like such a sourpuss all the time.

"Okay," Iwaizumi said slowly. "What do you plan to do about your... crush?" God, that word seriously rolled off the tongue in the most awkward manner possible, be it Japanese or otherwise.

He could hear Tadashi swallow again.  _"Um... er... I'm going to confess."_

Bam, there it was. Iwaizumi sunk into the couch just as his mother began to scold his brother for breaking yet another egg.

"That's... I don't know what to say," Iwaizumi said apologetically. He never was one to be well versed in relationships. Heck, he had only ever had one girlfriend back in junior high. She had confessed to him on graduation day and he, being the awkward guy he was, reluctantly accepted. They only lasted for two months before breaking up after she tried to pull Iwaizumi away from volleyball and Oikawa.

_"That's okay. I just needed someone to confide... and, well, that person was you..."_

"You haven't talked to Naoko-chan about, er, confessing?"

 _"No,"_ Tadashi admitted,  _"I already know how she feels about my affections toward Oikawa. Iwaizumi... I've only ever liked one other person before and... and they..."_

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," Iwaizumi reminded him.

 _"Th-thank you..."_ Tadashi sighed.  _"Thanks for listening to me talk, Iwaizumi. I know I'm not the easiest person to be around."_

Iwaizumi sat up a bit straighter. What was he trying to imply...? "What do you mean by that?"

There came a self-loathing chuckle. "Don't... don't do that. I know that you remember what I did to Oikawa back in elementary school. And I'm sorry for that. I really am."

"Look." Iwaizumi's voice grew sharper. "If you're really serious about... about pursuing a relationship with that shitty guy, then apologize to him first."

 _"... I will. I really am sorry you know. There were things happening... happening at home when, uh, I started to,"_ he cleared his throat,  _"Never mind. I-It doesn't excuse my behavior_ — _"_

"Damn right it doesn't."

 _"_ — _The point is that I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you as well. You don't know how sorry I am."_

 _You're right, I don't,_ Iwaizumi silently agreed. "Just apologize to him. That's the first step."  _Though I can't guarantee any other steps even existing after that one._

_"Okay. Thank you again, Iwaizumi."_

"... It's fine. Also, I forgive you. You might have been a bastard, but we were all idiots back then. No use carrying the burden of hatred around."

_"... Wah! That sounded so cool!"_

Iwaizumi almost expected Oikawa to pop out of nowhere and whine about how he, Iwaizumi, had shown up the captain.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he muttered. "I gotta go now. Dinner."

_"Okay, bye. Thanks again!"_

There was a click and a beep before Tadashi hung up.

"Hajime!" his mother called as a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. "Can you get your father from his study room, please?"

"Ouch, hot!" his brother complained as he carried in some oyakodon to the dining room.

"Oh, stop that, it's lukewarm at best."

Suddenly, Iwaizumi's phone rang again.

 _I swear, this better not be Makoshima calling again to thank me for the billionth time_ —

He raised his eyebrows at the caller ID. Makoshima Naoko. He swiped to pick up. "Naoko-chan? I can't really talk right now—"

Her voice was calm as she said the words, but Iwaizumi could detect just how frantic she was. "Sumire's gone missing."

* * *

When Sumire hadn't come home past six, Naoko began to worry. Sure, she might have been hanging out at the arcade or something but...

She never  _not_ called when she was out. It was sheer luck that Naoko had a earlier shift today, and was able to be home before seven.

"What do you mean, you didn't know?!" she shouted at Tadashi, passing one hand through her hair in panic. "Her room is right next to yours! How could you have not known!"

"I got back from practice, did my homework and called Iwaizumi right after," Tadashi explained, his voice watery with guilt. "I thought she was inside her room since it's always quiet in there—"

But Naoko was already making a phone call to Iwaizumi. Maybe the ace had seen her?!

He picked up almost immediately.  _"Naoko-chan? I can't really talk right now_ — _"_

Then she'd have to make it quick, wouldn't she? As calmly as she could, she said, "Sumire's gone missing."

 _"What?!"_  Iwaizumi sounded shocked. From the background, she could hear some irritable voices calling him to the dinner table.

"She's got her phone turned off!" Naoko cried. "You haven't heard anything from her, have you?"

 _"No, I haven't—yes, otou-san, I'm coming! I'm sorry, but I can't help you! I'll go out after dinner to find her—try calling Oikawa and Kageyama! Yes, I'm coming, hang on! I'm sorry, Naoko-chan, I'll eat as fast as I can."_ With that, he hung up, no doubt making good of his promise by devouring his dinner quickly. Even then, she wasn't sure how strict his family was about dinner etiquette. They might not even let him off the table before their father finished.

Taking his advice, she called Kageyama next, pacing about the living room as she waited for him to pick up. To her frustration, her call went straight to voicemail. Oh, how fucking convenient. Kageyama didn't have his phone on either. The volleyball addict was probably living up to that name by doing some late night practice or something.

She knew the most logical option was to call the police to report her missing but—

 _No. No buts._ "Tadashi, call the police and inform them of the situation using the house phone," she ordered him. He nodded and went away just to do so. Meanwhile, Naoko searched through her contacts to try and form a search party.

Kageyama was out of the question... Iwaizumi she wasn't sure of. The only other contacts in her phone she could think of was Umeko and Oikawa. Umeko was busy managing the cafe—there was no way she could help.

The drama club!

Forcing her fingers not to shake, she called up her acquaintances in the Aobajosai drama club. Katsumi and Leiko agreed to search together, as they were best friends and lived close to each other. Ayame and Midori agreed to pretty much the same thing, the former offering to call up Shinji and Toshio for help.

"I've called the police," Tadashi said, his face pale.

"Good, good," Naoko muttered, more to herself. "Now..." She stared at Oikawa's contact for a brief moment before tapping it and calling. Her phone buzzed for a few moments before the man himself picked up.

"Oya? Mako-chan? What, miss me?"

"Sumire's gone missing," Naoko said, the worry evident in her voice. "Oikawa, please. Help me look for her."

"... Meet me at Kitagawa Daiichi. We can start from there. I know the neighborhood like the back of my hand."

Naoko nearly fell over at his willingness to help. "Thank you." She choked. "Th-thank you... I'm heading over right now." Without even changing into something more suited to the cold evening—she was only wearing a gray shirt and a pair of black tights—she put on her shoes. "Tadashi."

Her brother snapped to attention.

"Stay here in case she comes back. Do  _not_ leave the house," she ordered sternly.

"G-got it."

It was during this moment that those Saturday jogs really came in handy. Her stamina was at its peak, even as she sprinted all the way to the nearest bus stop (which was quite far away) and waited five minutes for the bus to arrive.

It was another five minute ride to Kitagawa Daiichi (the bus driver looked at her suspiciously when she told him her destination). She quickly paid him and ran out of the vehicle as soon as they arrived, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from other passengers.

Nervously, she bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for Oikawa to arrive at the front of the gates.

 _I swear, if he doesn't get here soon, I'll have to look for her myself_ —

A figure emerged from the shadows. Oikawa Tooru.

"Mako-chan—"

"Let's hurry," she interrupted him. It was only the sheer anguish in her eyes that kept him from snarking her.

"Right," he said, solemn.

They scoured the entire neighborhood, with Oikawa leading the way. They ran into Iwaizumi as well, who decided that it would be better if he searched alone to cover more ground.

 _Sumire, where are you?_ Naoko asked in her mind, her shoulders tensed as she searched every nook and cranny for her sister. They knocked on houses too, but none contained the missing girl.

The arcade was devoid of all people, never mind Sumire.

The Kagoshima Ramen Restaurant was as well, with only a few staff and customers milling about. None of them were Sumire.

"We'll find her," Oikawa promised, putting a hand on her shoulder as they walked out of the restaurant together. "Even if it takes us all night." Naoko looked up at his serious, unwavering gaze. He wasn't kidding.

"That brat," Naoko muttered, trying her best to downplay her worry. "I-I... where the hell could she have gone?!" She took in a deep breath, calming herself down. "Sorry."

"Mako-chan." He pulled her close to him to comfort her. "Don't worry."

His body was warm against hers. She didn't even realize how close she was to freezing until Oikawa embraced her from behind. It had to be brief, however, as the search needed to go on.

"Is there anywhere that we haven't searched?" she asked desperately an hour and a half later.

Oikawa scrunched up his nose as he contemplated. They had searched pretty much the entire town. There had been no word from Iwaizumi or the drama club kids either. Nor the police or Tadashi. With all of the, they should have found her by now. So where—

"There  _is_ one place," Oikawa suddenly recalled. "It's not too far from here." He pulled her arm and they broke into a run.

Naoko prayed to all the gods in the world that Sumire was there. It could the dirtiest, foulest, dankest place on earth and Naoko wouldn't have cared. As long as she was there. That was all she needed at this moment.

She sniffled from the cold. Fuck, she seriously should have brought a jacket.

Finally, they arrived at Oikawa's destination. It was a decorative bridge—a cold-looking, still river was below it. It was beautiful, actually, with all the fireflies that were out and about. One even landed in Oikawa's fluffy brown hair (though they were too busy searching to see it).

"She's not here," Oikawa concluded, his voice as heavy as their hearts.

Naoko sighed, her breath turning white in the cold. "No. No, of course she isn't." She ran her hands through her hair to try and push down her rising stress levels. Her head pounded from running in the chilly weather and her lungs felt like they had been iced over. Stifling a moan, she leaned against one of the posts on the bridge.

Damn, she didn't realize how tired she was. She checked her watch. It was almost nine o'clock now. Tears pricked her eyes but she forced them down. Breaking down and crying wouldn't solve anything. They had to keep searching.

"Have you tried Tobio-chan?" Oikawa asked suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts. "From what I saw at the Standoff, they looked pretty cozy," he mused.

"I already did and he didn't pick up."  _I never did try calling again though._ She pulled out her phone and began to call Kageyama, praying that he would pick up this time. "Come on... come on... fucking pick it up already..."

It went straight to voicemail.

Naoko swore loudly and viciously enough to make a sailor blush. She raised her arm as if to fling her poor phone into the icy river below. Hurriedly, Oikawa grabbed her arm and took the phone from her.

"That's enough," he said sharply. "I know you're worried—hell, I am too—but you need to keep your head together, okay?"

Naoko nodded stiffly, her heart rate slowly calming. "You're right. But..." Snarling, she punched the post of the wooden bridge, causing the entire construction to quiver. She released a breath. "Sorry."  _No one's seen her since school,_ Naoko thought in despair.  _Kageyama's not picking up... he's my best chance but he's not fucking picking up and I don't know where he lives and_ —

In Oikawa's hands, her phone began to ring, indicating that there was an incoming call. Oikawa blinked twice before answering it. Naoko strained her ears to listen to their conversation. Oikawa was being kind of hush-hush about this...

Eventually, Oikawa hung up, relief evident in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Well?" Naoko prompted hopefully, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Kageyama just called. She's with him at his house."

And that was Naoko needed to hear. She collapsed backward onto the wooden bridge, facing the ceiling. There were no words she could really use to express herself to she settled on making this relieved huffing noise. A noise that gradually morphed into a laugh.

Oikawa stared at her as if she were a weirdo before a smile crept up on his face.

And as Naoko honked her 'deranged hyena' laugh, Oikawa sat himself down next to her fallen form, blinking curiously at her laughing face. Her cheeks were a rosy pink—whether it was from laughing or from the biting chill, he didn't know.

"Hah—" she huffed with much effort. "I-I-I can't believe it—she was with him the whole time—fuck, this whole thing was so—hah, so stupid..."

Rolling his eyes, Oikawa picked her up and sat her on his lap with little effort. "I told you that you shouldn't worry," he said, a hint of smugness in his voice. He curled his arms around her waist, hugging her close to him. "... You're like a giant teddy bear."

"Too bad for you; you're still the same dumb chihuahua..." She closed her eyes, leaning her head back onto his chest. "... Thank you, though. You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to. It was the right thing to do. Besides, screw homework. It was funner to drag you around town."

She clicked her tongue. "For once, I'm glad you decided to 'screw homework' as you have put it." Naoko frowned. "But... what the hell is she doing at Kageyama's house?!" She straightened, nearly knocking the top of her head against the soft underside of Oikawa's chin. As her worry faded, it was replaced by anger and disbelief. "She knows better than to not come home without calling ahead! Not to mention—"

"Ah, Mako-chan." Oikawa shook his head, smiling. "Can't we just have a peaceful moment?"

Naoko glared, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Do you have any idea what that girl made me do—"

"I know perfectly well what she made you do," Oikawa cut her off, mildly exasperated. "You're going into your mother bear mode again."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "If that girl knows what's good for her, she won't do it again."

"Are you going to ground her?"

"I would if I were her parent. But as a sister... somehow, it doesn't seem right." She moved her gaze upward, observing the stars. Noticing her movement, Oikawa did the same.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" he asked loftily, his voice low and soothing. "There are so many endless possibilities up there..." He undid his grasp on her to lift his right arm in the air as if he were high-fiving the sky.

"Like what? Aliens?" Naoko said skeptically.

"Why not?" Oikawa retorted, noticing her dry tone. "You know, out there on another planet, we'd be the aliens to whatever civilization is currently inhabiting said planet."

Naoko nodded distractedly. "I guess we would be, wouldn't we?"

"Oh? What's this? Is Mako-chan actually agreeing with me for once? No snarky remarks?" he teased. "By the way, how many friendship points do I have now?"

"Why are you suddenly asking?"

"Mako-chan, have you even paid attention to what position we're currently in?"

Naoko lowered her gaze from the night sky. "... I'd say one hundred and twenty." The "position they were currently in", as Oikawa had put it, was warm, comfortable, and there was no one around to judge. She didn't know when this sort of thing had been okay, but... it wasn't totally unwelcome.

"I never fail to impress myself," Oikawa boasted, smirking down at her.

"Shut up, dumb chihuahua." She wriggled momentarily, trying to find the most comfortable position in his lap. "... You know, we're probably going to freeze if we stay here any longer."

"Probably. But this is nice. Don't you think so, Mako-chan?"

Naoko had to agree.

 _This_ is  _nice._

"Okay, my legs are getting numb now," Oikawa said loudly. "Get off Mako-chan."

"What happened to 'this is nice'?" she asked mockingly.

"I'd like to withdraw my statement."

"Too bad, you can't." Even as she said the words, she got off him. "Happy?"

"I feel like a paraplegic. What do you think?" he said wryly.

"I'm just going to ignore the fact that you used the words 'feel' and 'paraplegic' in the same sentence."

Oikawa snorted softly before standing up and grabbing her hand. "Come on. Let's go home." He started to lead her away, Naoko following along.

She glanced down at their intertwined fingers, a feeling of warmth overcoming her body.

"Actually, make that a hundred and fifty," she murmured, her expelled breath becoming white once again in the wintry air.

"Hm?" Oikawa turned his head to her. "Did you say something, Mako-chan?"

Naoko shook her head, her hair falling partway around her face as she smiled to herself. "No, nothing."

As they walked away from the bridge hand-in-hand, the stars above twinkled brightly—a golden-white pattern embroided across a beautiful blue-black blanket.

* * *

The ice-cream bucket was scraped empty as Kageyama peered down inside it. Across his bedroom, there was Sumire's violin case, containing the broken parts of her once majestic instrument. In the dark room, a small television was hissing as black and white lines were scrawled across the screen.

In his bed lay a sleeping girl who had borrowed a pair of his pajamas. They were far too big and far too loose but at least they were comfortable.

Kageyama frowned at the violin case. Honestly, it was probably one of the most pitiful sights he had ever seen. The events leading up to them playing video games all night on his television and console were a blur.

He remembered her crying, having been devastated about the loss of such a beloved possession. He remembered himself swearing angrily, which only made her laugh as she blubbered.

Then he was pretty sure he had sworn revenge on the person who had done this to her. She quickly dissuaded him from pursuing that path, however. But that didn't mean that he didn't get royally pissed about it.

They had had an hour-long argument about confronting the troublemakers that had ended up with them playing those video games till late—it was then Sumire decided to stay the night; his mother adored her so it wasn't really a problem.

Kageyama huffed a sigh as he lay down in the spot next to her. It was lucky that he had a queen-sized bed fit for two. He just had to be careful that he didn't up invading her side of the bed. She moaned softly before turning to her side and burying her face into the pillow. Her eyes were still slightly swollen from all the crying she had done.

 _What do I do now?_ he asked himself, staring at the black that was his ceiling. He pondered on the question for almost half an hour before the answer struck him like lightning.

Of course, how could he not think of it earlier?

He and his mother  _were_ pretty well-off...

With a final yawn, Kageyama dozed off, his mind consumed by dreams of a sleek, shiny electric violin.

* * *

Taiga sat up in her bed, panting. On the other side of the room, her twin was sleeping soundly. Slowly, she lay back down in her bed, hoping that the dreams of a broken violin and a broken doll would not haunt her again.

* * *

 _**A/N: So, I decided not to be lazy and this was the outcome, so hope you like it** _ **(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ**

 


	38. Season Finale: Serpentigenous Reprise

_**A/N: I like to think that Kitagawa Daiichi and Karasuno High are within walking distance, so that might explain things a little more clearly.** _

_**This is the chapter considered the Season Finale. Which means it is super, super long, just for you, dear readers! This will be the end of Season One of Kindergarten Bully (yey)!** _

* * *

_Some people revel in taking risks, and some go through life taking no risks at all._

—  _Nicholas Winton_

* * *

"Did you get enough money from your piggy bank for the bus fare?" Taiga asked Jun'ichi as they sat down in their classroom. They were met with friendly smiles and waves from all of their classmates. It was nice to be popular.

Even when those smiles and waves quickly disappeared to frowns and scowls when they thought the twins weren't watching.

The twins could hardly be angry at each other for long. In this cold, unfeeling world, they only had each other and knew it. They lived off of each other—one could not thrive without the other.

"Enough for one person," Jun replied, patting his wallet. There were hundreds of yen shoved in their by their stepmother—they weren't allowed to use it; it was only to show that their family was well off.

"Same for me," Taiga said, giving her brother a small smile. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Still, though... we really gonna skip school for this tournament? Kaede's mother is going to kill us." Jun'ichi rubbed the back of his head, his eyes uncertain. Taiga sighed. She knew how terrified of their stepmother he was—even more so than she was. Her shoulder started to ache again but she ignored it, frowning at Jun.

"I don't want to listen to her anymore." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "She has the audacity to portray us as the perfect children in a perfect family... The other kids don't know about what she's really about. If they did, they wouldn't even talk to us. And, honestly? I wouldn't mind that. I just... don't want to listen to her anymore."

"Taiga!" Jun exclaimed, horrified. "Do you know what she'll do to us if she finds out—"

"I know!" Taiga snapped. "But I've had it up to  _here_ ," she stretched her arm up as high as she could reach, "with that woman! In fact, after the tournament, I'm not going home."

"Eh?! Taiga, your impulsiveness is speaking again!"

"But it could work," she argued. "We don't have that much stuff anyway, except our uniforms and your soccer jersey. We could pack quickly this afternoon and never go back."

"But where will we go?" Jun wanted to escape Kaede's mother as much as his twin—he was eager to hear her ideas, though skeptical.

"We could rent an apartment or something—"

"We're  _twelve_ ," Jun deadpanned.

"We can figure something out though," Taiga told him, tapping her fingers on the table. "Please, Jun. After the tournament, we don't go back home, okay?"

"No..."

"Please!"

"No!" Jun cried worriedly.

"Think about it. We could steal money from her to last us for a while and get jobs."

"We're not thirteen yet—"

"We will be soon! Next week, if you haven't already forgotten. Then we'll be eligible to get a job!"

Jun sighed. He knew there was no use stopping her. But to go through with this childish, impulsive plan... He bit his lip. He couldn't just go home and let Taiga fight for her own survival by herself, could he?

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly.

"Yes! Thanks, bro."

* * *

Naoko glanced over her shoulder to see Takashi crossing his fingers and muttering something under his breath, his eyes closed.

"Kishiyama-san?" she tapped his arm politely.

"Ah!" Takashi straightened his back and opened his eyes. "I'm not sleeping, Shouta!"

"I'm not Yamada-san."

Takashi laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Y-yes, I can see that... sorry, Makoshima-chan, I'm just so incredibly nervous right now." Tears of hopelessness comically flowed down his face, causing Naoko to sweatdrop. "I may be the vice but I'm also the team's weakest link..." He looked at his fingers, which were twitching erratically, testimony to his nerves.

"Don't fret too much," she told him, turning away to face the front of the bus. The entire martial arts club was coming along to support and cheer for their team of three. The school had kindly let them borrow one of its buses for this special occasion. "Worry is essentially a control issue, Kishiyama-san."

"Hah? What do you mean by that?" Takashi blinked at her in confusion. A few of the other club members were also paying close attention to their conversation, Shouta included.

"It's trying to control the uncontrollable. Parents worry about their children because they cannot control them. We worry about the economy because we cannot control it." She turned her head just a tad to eye him. "We cannot control the future so we worry about it."

"I... see where you're coming from," Takashi admitted before Shouta rudely butted in.

"Oi! What are you trying to pull? Acting all serene and perfect like that. You telling me that you've never had to worry about anything before?" he growled. "Tch, princess."

"You're wrong in that assumption," Naoko rebutted, keeping her eyes focused on the front. "Yamada-san... I worry about a lot of things."

"Oh, yeah? Like what? Because you don't seem to be worried about the tournament at all. Does this mean nothing to you? Is it just some kind of  _game_ you're playing with us—"

"Game?" Naoko cut him off, finally making eye contact with him. "I can assure you, Yamada-san, this is no game." Her lip curled upward in a slight sneer. "It's never been a game to me."

"What the hell are you trying to say—"

"Yamada, that's enough," the supervising teacher barked from his seat at the front of the bus. "Stop trying to pick fights with your own teammate."

"Hrr..." Shouta shut up, though he definitely wasn't being a happy camper about it.

In her seat, Naoko clenched her fists, her knuckles turning bone white from the action. Shouta was wrong. This tournament wasn't just  _nothing_ to her.

Not long after, the bus arrived at the Sendai Martial Arts Stadium, situated smack dab in the middle of the city. The boys—Izumi had been the only girl in the martial arts club before she left—all gathered their belongings and supplies and filed out of the bus. Some were carrying bottles of water while others possessed basic medical supplies like bandages, gauze and ointment.

Naoko was the last to come out of the bus, just after Takashi, who had stopped to help a younger boy who had dropped two water bottles on the floor.

They entered the stadium, some of the younger boys "oohing" and "aahing" at even the most basic things. One could tell that they had never been outside of the country before—one boy even mistakenly thought a normal cell tower was Tokyo Tower.

"We're not even in Tokyo!" an exasperated Shouta pointed out when the boy had said that. "Next you'll be saying that Shanghai is one city away from Sendai."

"It is?" the oblivious boy gasped.

"No, it's not!"

"Oh..."

"Alright, boys." The supervisor clapped his hands together. "All of you to the bleachers. We're in the front row seats. I'll pick one student to stand in the arena with me so they can help out. Yamada, Kishimiya and Makoshima, all of you get changed and prepare. Then go to the competitor's area."

"Yes, sensei!" all three of them chorused, though Naoko's cheer was a bit lackluster.

The girls change rooms was a further one corridor down from the boy's change rooms so she had to leave the boys before continuing on her own, not that she minded. It was decidedly more peaceful without Takashi and Shouta, especially the latter, who didn't really know when to shut up.

Naoko was walking into the female change rooms when a smaller figure bumped into her.

"Geh!" the smaller figure—a young girl with long brown hair—cried, recoiling. "S-sorry!"

"What were you doing in there?" Naoko asked, looking down on her with callous eyes. "You're obviously not a competitor." She wasn't dressed in any kind of uniform or gi; she wore a black shirt, a beanie and a grey skirt and was carrying a lumpy backpack.

She lowered her gaze nervously. "... My brother dared me to go in. I didn't do anything weird though." The girl looked up, a defiant spark in her eyes. Naoko cocked her eyebrow at that. The younger girl obviously didn't like older authority, though Naoko was probably only older than her by a few years.

"I believe you," Naoko answered, stepping around her to enter the change rooms.

"Ehh?! You do?!"

Naoko stopped in her tracks. "Yeah."

"... Thanks. I'm Koharu Taiga, by the way. Don't tell on me, okay?" Then she ran off to a snickering young male with the same color hair as her, barking insults at his gleeful face. "I said shut up, Jun!"

Naoko disappeared into the change rooms as Taiga and Jun'ichi walked away.

"Stop laughing!" Taiga yelled at him, ticked off. "You sadist!"

"I can't help it! Haha—your face was hilarious!"

Taiga stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever." They turned around the corner and it was Jun's turn to run into someone. "Sorry," Taiga apologized for her brother, hardly giving the stranger a second glance.

"Yeah, sorry," Jun added without even looking at who he had bumped into.

"Oi." The person he had bumped into grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. Hard. Jun flinched at the amount of pressure.

Taiga whirled on Jun's attacker, a girl with short blonde hair and cold blue eyes. "Hey! Let him go."

Izumi sneered at them. "You fucked with the wrong person, today, kids. I am very,  _very_ pissed off today."

"Whatcha gonna do to us, huh?!" Taiga snapped, grabbing Jun's arm and trying to pull him out of Izumi's grip. "Hit us?! Well, do it then! We're already used to it—"

Suddenly, a small hand clutched Izumi's shoulder and forced her to turn around. Izumi released Jun, the boy falling backward onto Taiga, who frantically pushed him off her before helping him up, her chocolate brown eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" Taiga demanded.

"F-fine," Jun stuttered, pale.

 _"You,"_ Izumi hissed hatefully, jerking her shoulder out of Naoko's grip. The raven-haired girl regarded her with equal poison in her gaze.  _"What the fuck are you doing here_ — _"_ With a shriek of rage, she raised her hand into the air, as if to slap Naoko.

Naoko folded her arms, her eyes defiant. "Go ahead."

 _"How dare you_ — _"_

"Yo, Izumi, what are you doing?" Tori appeared, her hands in her pockets and an unlit cigarette between her pursed lips. "Why the hell are you attacking another competitor?"

"Competitor?" Izumi parroted, confused. She hadn't been paying enough attention to notice that Naoko was dressed in the official gi for Aobajosai. "What are you—" She smirked cruelly. "Oh. So those losers recruited you, huh? Oh how the mighty have fallen."

Naoko returned that smirk. "That's funny, coming from you. Have you met yourself yet?"

Taiga tugged Jun's sleeve, gesturing with her thumb that it was time for them to leave.

Any humor Izumi had disappeared as she pinched her features in a horrible scowl, Tori giving her a sideways glance as she did so. "That will change. Now that I know you're here... it's time to right what's wrong. You'd better not get eliminated before the final round. Don't get too thirsty, yeah? Coffee and sports drinks aren't all that it's cracked up to be. Come, on Tori!"

"Er, okay," Tori said, looking confused as Izumi dragged her away.

Naoko growled under her breath as the two girls left, knowing all about their scheme. Tossing her sports bag over her shoulder, she followed them to where all the other teams and competitors were gathered. There were a few snack stalls there which offered vegetarian alternatives as well as a variety of meats. Naoko glanced around, searching for Takashi's silver hair and Shouta's dark one.

They found her first.

"Makoshima-chan!" Takashi called as he weaved his way through the crowd to get to her. "There you are." He chuckled. "I actually saw you from a distance and you looked so lost that it was really cute."

"Oi, stop flirting and get one of those complimentary sports drinks," Shouta barked, glaring at his subordinates. "Everybody else is drinking them."

It was true. The brand of sports drink that they left on the tables for competitors were a pretty expensive brand.

"Get it yourself," Takashi huffed, pouting. "I'm not your errand boy."

"I was asking nicely, Bakatako!"

"I am  _not_ a stupid octopus, thank you very much!" Takashi all but shouted at Shouta. "And you weren't asking nicely at all!"

"I'd avoid them if I were you," Naoko said to Shouta. "Do you not remember what I told you?"

"Yeah, and I think you're full of shit. Don't try to stop me."

She shrugged. "No one's stopping you from taking one. I was just saying, Yamada-san."  _Then you can see just how full of shit this entire competition is thanks to Tori and Izumi._

Shouta growled and crossed his arms. "Well, if you put it that way, I'm not that thirsty after all. Happy?"

"I don't really care either way," Naoko deadpanned.

"On second thoughts, I  _am_ thirsty!"

 _... Just make up your mind already._ Shouta was going out of his way to disagree with her and, frankly, it was getting old.

Shouta stormed off, a dark cloud hanging over his head. Takashi sighed and turned to Naoko.

"Sorry about him," he apologized, biting his lip. "He's not usually this antsy. It's just that—well—Aobajosai hasn't won a martial arts tournament in years. And his dream is to win the tournament. It's his last year, you know. He won't have any other opportunities to bring glory to the school after this one."

"I'm aware," Naoko answered, leaning against the wall. "And we  _will_ win."

"Hah... yeah, I guess. We're certainly not the best in the prefecture but..." His gaze steeled over. "We can sure as hell try to be."

Naoko had no doubt that they would.

* * *

There was a small tuck shop which served the best tasting pork and beef curry and rice in the town, situated between Karasuno High and Kitagawa Daiichi. Students from both schools often went there during lunchtimes to mingle and eat the delicious pork curry.

Sumire, sitting on a two-seater table across from Kageyama, shovelled a spoonful of rice and curry sauce into her mouth, watching Kageyama eat from underneath her bangs. Though it might not look it, the two were actually having an eating competition. If one spilled any of the contents onto the table or floor, they automatically lost, hence why Kageyama and Sumire were eating as quickly and cleanly as they possibly could. It was considerably slower than what their pace would have been like had that requirement not been there, so they actually looked somewhat normal among the crowd.

Kageyama glared at Sumire through his own bangs, a bold declaration in his piercing stare.  _I'm going to beat you._

Sumire returned his glare with one of her own.  _Not if I can help it._ Then she kicked his leg beneath the table, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair as he tried to avoid the blow to his shin.

As expected, he kicked back, and Sumire was doing her best to evade his shoes as she vacuumed up the curry.

When she had returned to her own home yesterday, she had gotten quite the scolding from Naoko, spending most of the duration of her lecture shamefully fixing her gaze on the floor and counting how many tiles it had.

After that insightful (see: horrible) lecture, Naoko immediately sent her up to her room like any good parent would. Sumire had yet to tell her about the condition of her violin. About the Koharu twins who had so cruelly played a part in its destruction.

Honestly, now that she thought about it a little more, she was more scared for the twin's safety than anything else. If Naoko ever found out about their involvement—and she likely would very soon after the martial arts competition—the twins would probably—

"I win!" Kageyama boasted, lifting his chopsticks in the air in triumph. His cheeks were stuffed full with meat and rice, making him look like a human-chipmunk hybrid.

Sumire swore loudly, gaining some odd looks from other patrons. "Dammit, I was distracted! The sun was in my eyes!"

Kageyama glanced outside the shop window before giving her a wry look. Outside, it was totally grey and cloudy and threatened to rain soon. The sun couldn't even be glimpsed under the thick, unwelcoming blanket of clouds.

"Did I say sun?" Sumire chuckled nervously as she finished the remnants of her bowl of curry. "I meant... fun. Yeah, I was having so much fun eating that some of the sauce got in my eyes."

"And you say you're not a dumbass," Kageyama mocked. "Face it, I won and you lost, twig."

"I'm smarter than you are!" Sumire pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "Remember when I helped you study for that math test?"

Kageyama flushed slightly. "Shut up, dumbass. I failed anyway. That was probably your fault."

"I'm sorry I am unable to cure chronic stupidity," Sumire said dryly, cocking an eyebrow.

"Tch!" Kageyama scoffed. "And to think I was actually going to—" He cut himself off. "Never mind."

"Going to what?"

"I said shut up!"

"No, you didn't, you said 'never mind'!"

"I—"

"Excuse me? Are you Kageyama Tobio?"

Sumire and Kageyama turned their heads to the right to see a girl with lavender hair standing before them, hands behind her back. She didn't hunch and she stood like a proper young lady.

 _A perfect housewife,_ Sumire and Kageyama both thought at the same time.

"Yeah," Kageyama answered. "What do you want?"

"Don't be so rude, Tobio," Sumire scolded.

"My friend wanted me to give you this," the girl said, ignoring what had just transpired and giving an envelope to Kageyama. "Have a nice day." She bowed to them once before disappearing into the crowd, many of which were now getting their umbrellas out in preparation for oncoming rain.

"What is it?" Sumire asked after Kageyama had opened it, tossing the envelope aside on the table.

Kageyama's eyes moved left to right and back again as he read the letter. "It's from Annoying Girl—I mean, Honda-san," he told her, looking slightly confused. "She wants me to meet her at the cherry blossom tree at the back of the school after last period." He shrugged. "I have volleyball practice after school so I won't go." His gaze shifted to the large bag he had sitting at his feet. "You're coming to practice, right? Noya and Daichi enjoy having an extra libero around; so do the others."

Sumire nodded, stifling a giggle when he accidentally referred to the girl as "Annoying Girl". "Yeah, though Naoko-nee's making me call her as soon as school is over to tell her where I am..." She heaved a sigh. "Not that I blame her. Naoko-nee's always right about these things." She frowned. "Also, you should go just to see what she wants. It'd be rude to stand her up."

"But I don't want to go," Kageyama complained, the side of the letter crumpling in his stern grip. "It's probably just going to be her trying to make me talk to the other dumb people in my class."

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine?" Sumire remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look, just go see what she wants and then come to practice. It probably won't take that long so stop being such a baby."

"Baby? I'm not the one who cried into my arms two nights ago," he reminded her, wincing when he realized what he had just said. "Sorry—"

"It's fine," she said quietly. "I know I was being a baby."

"Hey!" he snapped, causing her to jump. "You have to come to practice after school, okay?!"

Sumire, wide-eyed, nodded. "I said I was coming, didn't I? Why do you want me there so bad anyway?"

"Because I—" He cut himself off again with a huff. "Never mind! Just be there."

"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands in surrender. "I was already planning to come so it's no problem."

Suddenly, thunder boomed, rain beginning to fall from the clouds in a gentle patter that gradually became heavier and heavier. Neither Kageyama or Sumire had brought umbrellas with them to the store.

"Dammit," Kageyama cursed. "We're gonna have to—"

"Run?" Sumire finished, getting out of her seat at the same time as Kageyama. He put his school bag on and picked up the bag that he had placed on the floor when they arrived. "Wanna race?"

"How the hell is that going to work? We're going two different directions, dumbass."

"That sounds like the talk of someone who knows he's going to lose," Sumire taunted, smirking.

He narrowed his eyes. "You're on."

"Call me when you get back to your school! Unless I call you first," she added smugly, knowing that Kitagawa was closer to the tuck shop than Karasuno.

Without warning, Kageyama suddenly ran out of the store without even a second glance. Sumire gawked at his boldness for a few seconds before running out and into the rain herself. All the way back to Kitagawa Daiichi.

By some miracle, Kageyama called her just as she was pulling up at the school gates of Kitagawa.

"How?" she muttered into the phone.

"Longer legs," he reminded her. Gods, she could almost  _hear_ his pleased smirk. "Runt."

She snorted as she walked back into her school building. "Whatever. See you after school. And don't forget to meet Honda."

* * *

"Hey, Shittykawa, I need to talk to you," Iwaizumi said as he dragged Oikawa away from their lunch table and to a more secluded area.

"Eh? At least let me grab my lunch, Iwa-chan—"

"Later," he told him. "Just come with me."

"That's pretty gay, you know!" Makki called, exchanging an amused glance with Mattsun.

"Not as gay as what you do in your morning routine," Iwaizumi answered back over his shoulder, Oikawa snickering at his retort.

"He's got you there," Mattsun said as Iwaizumi and Oikawa made their exit.

"That  _was_ rather questionable," Oikawa remarked as they finally stopped in front of the gym. He wriggled his eyebrows. "Is Iwa-chan going to confess to me?"

"It's not me you should be worry about," Iwaizumi replied, leaning against the wall of the gym. "Shittykawa, I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer me seriously."

"When do I not take you seriously, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked loftily.

Iwaizumi deadpanned at him before saying, "You're not gay, right?"

Oikawa stared at him, deliberating the answer. "I don't think so. Why? You're not actually coming on to me, right?"

"For the last time, no. That aside... I want to talk to you about Makoshima."

"Which one?" Oikawa answered smartly. "There  _are_ three you know."

"Tch, you know exactly who I mean so drop the act. It's annoying. Makoshima called me last night about..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. In what way could he possibly word what Tadashi had confided to him about his situation.

Iwaizumi felt minimum guilt as he contemplated on how to tell Oikawa about Tadashi's intended confession. If Iwaizumi kept his silence, he knew for sure that Oikawa would use the confession as an opportunity to rip down Tadashi. That was just how he was. He couldn't stop Tadashi from confessing. But the least he could do was ensure that Tadashi got a gentle letdown.

"He likes you," Iwaizumi chose to begin with, gauging Oikawa's reaction. When the brunet remained eerily silent, Iwaizumi continued, "He's going to confess to you this afternoon, probably sometime during practice when all the other guys aren't around." It was a known fact that Oikawa sometimes stayed later in the gym to practice his flying serves. Taking Oikawa's silence as another opportunity, he pounced, "And when he does, you're  _not_ going to be a bastard about it, do you hear me?"

"Iwa-chan—"

"I'm serious. And don't give me that kindergarten bully bullshit, because you're a fucking nineteen year old man and you're going to act like one,  _do you hear me?_ "

Oikawa blankly stared at his best friend. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." He shuddered. "The White Monster likes me? No surprise there—everyone does—" Iwaizumi scoffed. "—but... it's strange. Weird. Unworldly." His eyes widened. "The work of aliens."

Iwaizumi snorted. "Does everything have to relate back to aliens with you?" He narrowed his eyes. "You're not lying to me, right? You're going to let him down gently and—"

"I get it, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa huffed, pouting. "Besides, I said I'd quietly hate him now, not actively witch-hunt him. I'm pretty sure rejecting his advances in the most ruthless way possible would count as actively witch-hunting."

"Good." Iwaizumi nodded. "And if you do, I  _will_ know, and I  _will_ punch you. Multiple times," he added as an afterthought.

Oikawa chuckled lowly. "So mean, Iwa-chan... But Mako-chan's punches hurt more than yours."

Iwaizumi held up a fist. "Wanna bet? I'm sure if that's the case, you won't have any problem taking mine."

"Ack! Noo, Iwa-chan, sorry, sorry!"

* * *

With a small grunt, Naoko slammed a roundhouse kick into her opponent's belly, sending him flying across the ring. He landed in a curled up position, unconscious, his eyes rolling to the back of his head so that Naoko could only see the whites of his eyes as she approached him. Callously, she grabbed him by the foot and dragged him off the stage, all without blinking an eyelash.

There was no place for hesitation or second guessing in the ring. If her opponent hadn't been disqualified before, he surely was now.

The judging panel, a group of old men, named her the winner. She would move onto the next round, where she would be facing another young man.

Preliminaries were one round ago, and the Aobajosai team members had all made it in. Both Shouta and Takashi had won their after-preliminary first matches as well.

Naoko's jaw clenched when she saw the quality of everyone's performance in the ring—or lack of thereof. Thanks to whatever drug Tori's likely influential mother had spiked the coffee and sports drinks with, the martial artists were now moving sluggishly and clumsily in her unaffected eyes. She was sure that, now that they were knowingly under the influence of these drugs, they would see things a lot differently.

She had watched Shouta fight before she had been called up; he was just like the rest of them: slow, ungraceful and shaky, though he likely had deluded himself into thinking that he was performing at his peak—same went for the other influenced fighters.

It was pathetic, really. She had hardly used up any of her energy fighting her last two opponents. Now that she was off the stage to make way for other fighters, she did a couple of stretches on the sidelines, preparing for her next match.

"Hey." Takashi sidled up next to her. "You ready? You're facing that big guy over there."

"Yeah," she replied. "I know. And I am. Are  _you_ ready? Your next opponent is pretty big as well." Not that that really meant much. Skill, stamina and technique mattered more than size.

Takashi nodded eagerly. "Shouta's fighting right now. You want to see?" He pointed to a far away ring where two figures were duking it out.

"No," she answered truthfully. "I—" One of them fell of the stage and she was sure it was Shouta. "He lost."

"What?!" Takashi hadn't been looking, having glanced off momentarily. "Are you sure that was him?!"

"Yes. The one that fell off was wearing the same gi as us."

"Dammit!" Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now what?"

"We keep going," Naoko told him, looking over to where her next opponent was giving her the evil eye. "Aobajosai  _will_ take the championship."

"You sound awfully sure of it."

"I am."

Because she would meet Izumi in the finals. Whether it went one way or another, it didn't matter—Aobajosai would win.

Takashi was called up to his fight just as Naoko was by the officials. Naoko silently wished him good luck as she got up on the ring to face her next opponent. A rather bulky young man who looked like he practiced judo.

He began to trash-talk her, but his words hardly penetrated. Like the rest, he had emptied out a sports drink bottle, and it was just history from there. If only he hadn't touched the liquids he might have actually stood a chance.

Takashi won his match too, which made Naoko wonder if he had drank any of the drugged drinks. She didn't remember him ingesting anything except some water and pork, but she might have missed it.

By the fifth round, Naoko was already getting bored of things. After the fifth round would be the quarterfinals, then the semis. Then, finally, the grand final, where she and Izumi would fight it out once again in a rematch.

With this in mind, she ruthlessly struck her opponent with a hard body blow. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he was flung backward by the amount of force she had put it. He rolled once, then twice, before coming to the stop at the edge of the ring. Just like she had done with her previous opponents, she mercilessly kicked him out of the ring.

Now that the quarterfinals were approaching, it was announced that there would be a ten minute break for the competitors to rest themselves. The man Naoko had knocked out cold was carried off in a stretcher as Naoko climbed off the raised stage and to a sullen Shouta and smiling Takashi.

"Did you win all your matches?" Naoko asked Takashi, largely ignoring Shouta for the most part.

"Yeah!" he replied, smiling. "Which is pretty weird, considering..." He twiddled his thumbs. "I thought these were the best martial artists in the prefecture. But from the way they were performing... I bet our club's first years could take them on."

"Mm." Naoko took a swig of water. "It is strange, isn't it?" Out of her peripheral vision, she spotted Tori going off with another woman, who looked to be her mother. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." She put down her water bottle, grabbed her phone from her bag, and followed after the two females, who had disappeared down one of the corridors that led to the back of the arena.

Quietly, she stalked them until they stopped, the woman grabbing Tori by the arm and speaking in a harsh tone. It was then Naoko turned on her phone and began to record, hidden by a wall that was sticking out.

"You were supposed to make sure that all of them took the drug!" she shouted at Tori, digging her false nails into her arm.

"I tried!" Tori snapped, pulling out of her mother's grasp, wincing when her mother's nails scraped across her soft skin. "I offered the sports drinks and coffee to pretty much everyone and even offered sex to those who refused! I thought I covered everyone, okay?! Who  _didn't_ take the drugs, anyway?"

"Aside from Izumi, two," the woman snarled, looking as if she were about to slap Tori across the face. Naoko scowled. She wasn't even concerned that her daughter had just literally told her that she was selling herself to men just to get things done. "That black-haired girl," Naoko's grip on the phone tightened, "and the kid with glasses. They look weak as hell but they've managed to beat all of the good ones!"

"You said they're weak, right?" Tori said, trying to appease her mother. "Which means they probably don't stand a chance against Izumi. All of them were seeded into separate blocks anyway..."

"Who cares?! One of them will still face Izumi in the finals!" The woman massaged her temples. "Calm down, Yuki," she coached herself. "Everything will still work out fine. I bet way too much money on that girl. She  _will_ win. If she doesn't... someone will pay."

"Whatever." Tori rolled her eyes.

Naoko stopped recording. That two minute recording alone was already enough to incriminate them, especially once she reported to the officials that the coffee machine and sports drinks had been tampered with. She quickly fled the scene, already hearing the high heels of Tori and her mother clicking her direction.

"Where were you?" Takashi asked when Naoko returned. "You were nearly gone the whole break time."

"Bathroom," Naoko lied easily.

"Oh yeah?" Shouta narrowed his eyes at her. "Then why did you go to the furthest one if you needed to go that badly?"

"I never said I needed to go badly," Naoko pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Shouta, I know that you're upset that you lost—"

"Fuck being upset! I'm pretty damn fucking pissed—"

"—but when this is all over, you'll still get a chance," Naoko finished.

"What? What the hell are you talking about? Are you frickin' shitting me right now? This was my last tournament and I blew it! So can you stop trying to rub it in my face?!"

"When this is all over," Naoko started again, "you'll still get a chance. You know why? Because they'll have no choice but to do it all over again when I'm done with them. Don't argue with me. Just wait for everything to fall into place."

"You're not funny—"

"I'm not trying to be."

"Guys," Takashi sighed. "Please don't fight."

Just then, it was announced that the quarterfinals would begin shortly. Takashi and Naoko glanced up at giant screen near the top of the stadium, stating their opponents. It seemed like the separate blocks had all come together as one now. She would be facing some random while Takashi...

Takashi would be facing Izumi. The only other person other than he and Naoko that hadn't taken the drugs.

"Shit," Takashi was cussing, his eyes wide with fear. "There's no way I can beat her—"

"You  _won't_ beat her if you keep telling yourself that," Naoko interrupted his ramble.

"Hate to say it, but she's right," Shouta agreed, scowling at Izumi's picture on the screen. "Go out there, Takashi, and give her a good old punch in the boobs for me."

Takashi's jaw slackened. Then tears began to pour down his face like a waterfall. "Shouttaaaaaa!" he wailed, collapsing into Shouta's arms.

"Ack! Get off, Bakatako!"

"You do careee!" he continued to sob, grasping Shouta's school uniform (he had changed out from his gi after his loss). "Shouttaaaaa! You can call me a stupid octopus forever as long as you careee!" He pumped his fist, suddenly all fired up. "I'm ready! Win or lose, I'm going to punch in her in the boob!"

Naoko sighed as Shouta face-palmed.

In his passionate declaration, he had said the last part of his sentence far too loudly. A few of the rare female martial artists looked at him with pure disgust as they did their stretches. Even Izumi was staring at them funnily.

"Keep your voice down, idiot!" Shouta barked, whacking Takashi comically across the head. "Now they all think you're a pervert!"

Takashi's nose began to bleed as a look of pure bliss came over his features. "Well..." A small amount of drool dribbled from his lips. "They wouldn't be wrong."

Naoko didn't need to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that Takashi was probably thinking about having his face smothered by disproportionately large breasts.

"Alright, Casanova," she deadpanned, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him to his allocated stage. "Get out there and show that bitch what you're made of."

"Okay!" Takashi all but yelled, still fueled by the thought of suffocation by boobs.

Thanks to her opponent being drugged, Naoko easily defeated him and moved onto the semifinals. After taking another drink of water, she went over to where Takashi and Izumi were fighting.

The silver-haired boy was unnaturally serious while fighting; he was just like her in that respect. From the expression on his face, she knew that his mind was no longer on boobs but on winning instead.

But as hard as Takashi tried, Izumi wasn't letting up. She didn't even seem to be trying, something which infuriated Takashi, his attacks growing more reckless and sloppy.

"I've had enough of this!" Izumi suddenly snapped, grabbing Takashi's incoming fist. "It's time to end this."

Naoko grimaced. She had seen her use this move before. She knew from experience how brutal it was. During their last fight, Izumi had used it on her, and Naoko had only just managed to roll out of the way in time.

Viciously, Izumi flipped Takashi onto his back with great force, effectively stunning the boy. Then she jumped as high as she could into the air, forming her arms in an 'X' position.

There it was.

The Heavenly Cross Attack.*

Takashi was doomed as Izumi successfully struck him with her crossed arms. His face slacked. Then his entire body. Soon, he was out cold. Izumi stood up triumphantly and held her fist up into the air, causing a great uproar with the audience.

It was over.

Naoko could hear Shouta cursing all the way from Aobajosai's bench as Takashi was carried off in a stretcher. Luckily, he was already beginning to show signs of stirring. The blow Izumi had dealt was not as severe as when she had tried it on Naoko.

Her lip curled upward as the semifinals were about to start. Again, she quickly defeated her opponent, knocking her out cold and possibly breaking her nose with a deft punch to the face.

On the other ring, she could see Izumi doing the same with her opponent, though the snake part of her toyed with the unfortunate boy a bit before dealing a hard blow that sent him out of the ring.

"And what a knockout!" the announcer—it was still the same guy from all those years ago; he looked exactly the same except for the fact that he was now growing a mustache—cried out into his microphone. "Which means Chiyoko Izumi will be continuing on to the finals, facing off against Aobajosai's last representative: Makoshima Naoko!"

"Hey, Makoshima," Shouta called to her as she took one final drink of water before her last match. "Make her pay for what she did to Takashi. And try to hit her boobs."

Naoko gave a small smile, knowing that it was his way of saying good luck. "I will."

"For both?"

"You'll see."

She and Izumi were called up to the ring, where the announcer proceeded to tell the audience all about them, just like the last time around.

"Watch, ladies and gentlemen, as history plays out before us once again!" he commentated. "For the first time in nearly seven years, people, Chiyoko Izumi and Makoshima Naoko have returned to the ring to fight it out once again! Last time, it ended up with Makoshima taking the victory... but will history  _truly_ repeat itself? Or will Chiyoko be named as this year's winner?!"

The girls, the one scowling and the other frowning ever so slightly, bowed to one another, though not very deeply.

"Let's not wait any longer, folks! Battle... BEGIN!"

"HAAAH!" Izumi yelled as she charged at Naoko, her clawed hand flying past the black-haired girl as she evaded her attack. Her nails scraped Naoko's cheek, causing a shallow scratch, but other than that, Naoko was still unharmed. "STAY! STILL!"

Naoko blocked the next barrage of blocks Izumi dealt her, feeling her arms ache as Izumi pounded her forearms with her fist. She leaped backward and then pounced forward, kneeing Izumi in the gut with a devastating blow.

Izumi flew backwards and landed gracefully on the balls of her feet, her facial features contorted in a perpetual snarl. She leaped for Naoko again, assaulting her with a volley of kicks and punches.

Silently, Naoko blocked all of them, hitting Izumi across the face with a flying elbow when she retaliated.

"HRR!" Izumi growled and they began to exchange blows. Neither of them budged as their fists flew and were blocked. "MAKOSHIMA!" With a sudden burst of energy, she broke through Naoko's defenses and landed a brutal uppercut.

"FINALLY!" Izumi screamed, taking advantage of a stunned Naoko to land several more breaking strikes across her face. She mercilessly pummeled the winded girl, even resorting to uncouthly slapping her across the face multiple times. "YOU—"  _Punch._ "—HAVE—"  _Crack._ "—NO FUCKING IDEA—"  _Bamf._ "—HOW LONG I'VE WAITED FOR THIS MOMENT! YOU HAVE HUMILIATED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, MAKOSHIMA!"

She punched Naoko across the cheek and her head snapped to one side, hanging low. Her entire form was hunched over, her long hair having come out of her ponytail and falling over her bruised face.

"AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I'M STRONGER THAN YOU NOW! AND THE STRONG—" She panted excitedly, her eyes wild with ecstasy. "—ALWAYS WIN! SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT, BITCH?!"

"Shit!" Shouta cursed. "This bitch is batshit crazy!"

"Yamada-senpai, I'm scared!" the student assistant that the supervisor had brought down with him cried. "What's going to happen to Makoshima-senpai?"

"I don't know, kid," Shouta grimaced. "I don't know." It looked to be all over. Everything came down to Naoko and... she wasn't going to win. It was all over. And, at the end of the day, all Shouta could put on his resume was "worked really hard to win martial arts tournaments but never got to win" in a classier manner.

Screaming in triumph, Izumi launched one last punch at the seemingly already defeated Naoko.

The crowd gasped.

The announcer nearly dropped his microphone.

Tori's mother chewed her nails, her daughter by her side.

Shouta held his breath.

And Takashi, who had been discharged from the medical bay, watched with wide eyes as he made his way back to the Aobajosai corner.

"What?" Izumi muttered, feeling a squeezing pressure on her balled up fist. Her pupils dilated in shock. "Impossible!"

Naoko, having caught Izumi's punch, stood up straighter, her hair falling behind her into place.

No one could blame Izumi. It really was impossible. How could she still even be standing after Izumi's devastating assault? She held her head up, allowing everyone to see the already forming bruises on her face. There were a plethora of them—on her cheeks, near her eyes, her jaw—and yet her eyes were shining with defiance.

Naoko tugged the fist and Izumi toward her, causing the shocked girl to stumble.

"N-no," Izumi stuttered. "T-this isn't possible—"

Naoko punched her square in the face and Izumi felt her nose break and her cheekbones fracture from the sheer force of the attack. The crowd was hanging in awed silence as Izumi fell backward. In the movies, it would have been in slow motion.

In reality, it only took seconds for her to land on her back, her eyes rolling toward the back of her head as she lost consciousness.

"That," Naoko panted, "was for Tadashi."

It was over.

And it had only taken one blow.

Slowly, Naoko raised her fist in the air.

The crowd exploded with noise.

"AND SHE HAS DONE IT, EVERYONE!" the announcer all but screamed into his microphone, his mustache swishing in excitement. "FOR THE SECOND TIME, MAKOSHIMA NAOKO HAS WON AGAINST CHIYOKO IZUMI AND BECOME MIYAGI'S CHAMPION, THIS TIME AS PART OF THE ADOLESCENT DIVISION!"

Naoko didn't know how it was even possible for the crowd to roar even louder than they had been before. They got up and stomped their feet to make even more noise, some of them even threatening to fall over the protective railing as they cheered and cheered and cheered.

She released a shuddering sigh as her arm trembled from keeping her fist up in the air for so long. All of a sudden, Shouta was on stage, shouting like there was no tomorrow and lifting her into the air and onto his broad shoulders. Tears were streaming down his face in quite possibly the manliest way possible, Takashi also bawling his eyes out.

Aobajosai had won.

It almost made her feel a little guilty about what she was going to do next.

Shouta let her down as the announcer asked her to say a few words, shoving the microphone into her face as he joined her on the stage.

"Now, don't be shy," he coaxed, a massive grin on his face. "You gotta say something, am I right?"

Naoko nodded shortly. "I'll make this clear and quick," she boomed into the microphone. "This competition has been rigged."

"What?!" Shouta and Takashi exclaimed.

The audience gasped collectively as well, shocked.

Tori and her mother began to pale.

"Erm," the announcer stammered uncertainly, "what do you mean?"

"Check the coffee machine and the sports drinks and you'll find that they've been spiked with some sort of anti-performance enhancement drug. I also have evidence on my phone of a condemning conversation between two of the conspirators."

Murmurs began to circulate, and the judging panel looked greatly scandalized.

"I don't want to have to deal with any legal issues," Naoko continued, her voice unwavering. "I only stumbled upon this scheme by circumstance. I'll have the recording sent to the esteemed judging panel. The voices you will hear belong to Toriyama matriarch and her daughter."

"You lie!" Tori's mother shrieked, drawing attention. Security immediately began to restrain her. "I'll have my lawyers destroy you—"

"We'll see who has the last laugh," Naoko cut her off. "Because the evidence against you is damning at the very least."

"It's true!" Tori suddenly wailed, ignoring her mother's furious glare. "I can attest to that. I'm sorry everyone, but my mother...!" She began to cry, burying her face into her hands, her purple bangs falling across the side of her face.

"Damn," Shouta whispered, awed. "So this is what she meant when she said..." He scowled. "Oi, princess! That was a real dick move! Why didn't you reveal this earlier, huh?!" He spoke loudly enough that everyone heard him.

"Because," Naoko was still speaking into the announcer's microphone, "it was personal." Her gaze flicked to where an unconscious and terribly injured Izumi was being tended to. She pushed the microphone away from her mouth and walked to where Shouta was standing. "Don't you think it was for the better though? At least now..." She glanced around the stadium. "You'll have a chance to actually win by your own means."

Shouta gaped at her for a few seconds before steeling his gaze, his mouth set in a thin line. "I'll hold you on to that."

Naoko nodded before walking back down to the Aobajosai section. It was time to let the adults take over from here. The officials were already dealing with the Toriyamas. All Naoko needed to do now was send the recording to the judges and then she would be done with things.

She did just that in the short span of five minutes, one of the officials approaching her for a copy of the audio via email.

"Makoshima-san," the supervisor said, his eyes warm as they walked to the bus. The rain had cleared and it was now sunny. "Good job out there."

"... Thank you, sensei."

"Hey, princess!" Shouta called, all of his club mates behind him. "We got something to say to ya."

Naoko paused, waiting for Shouta to call her out on whatever flaw she might have made. Her face was aching and her arms were sore. Whatever insult or put-down Shouta had to say, she hoped that it would be quick. All she wanted to do now was sit down and take a nap.

To her surprise, all the club members began to fan out, lining up alongside Shouta and Takashi.

"Guys," Naoko started, "what are you—"

They all bowed to her at the waist collectively. "Makoshima-san! Thank you!"

 _Why are they thanking me? It's my fault that they didn't get to do this properly._ "Why?" she uttered. But her question went unanswered as they all gathered around her and nudged her onto the bus, chattering excitedly.

"Man, that was great, beating Izumi like that!"

"S-senpai! You're so cool!"

"Is your face okay? You took quite the beating."

"I'm fine," was all Naoko could respond. "It'll heal."

"You didn't even punch her boob," Shouta complained as they took their seats on the bus. "How lame."

"I was considering to do that," Naoko admitted with a small, wry smile. She lowered her gaze and breathed out a sigh. "But she's been humiliated enough. There wasn't any need."

"I beg to differ, but whatever. Your call, princess."

Naoko nodded slowly before closing her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

_Tooru... I did it._

* * *

Tadashi's heart pounded as he watched Oikawa leave the gym to go for a water run. It was time. He looked over to Iwaizumi and shouted, "I'm going to the bathroom!"

Iwaizumi's eyes flashed knowingly. "Don't take too long."

Tadashi gave him a nod and jogged out of the gym. Luckily, Oikawa hadn't gone far outside. He was at the water fountain, filling each bottle of painstakingly for his teammates.

Oikawa tilted his head back and yawned, and Tadashi could feel his heart skip a beat.

Before he could change his mind, he forced his legs to walk toward Oikawa. But not before he texted an apology to Naoko.

_I'm sorry. I'm confessing to Oikawa today. Please don't be angry._

* * *

_Where is he?_ Honda thought worriedly, biting her lip as she stood by the old cherry blossom tree.  _Did he get my note?_

A mop of black-hair appeared in the distance and Honda's breath hitched. Her legs froze up as Kageyama continued walking toward her, hiking up the small mound the tree was planted on and stopping in front of her.

"Your letter said you wanted to meet me here," Kageyama said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

He was cute like that, in Honda's opinion.

"Yeah," Honda said softly. "Kageyama-kun..."

* * *

Tadashi gulped as he tapped Oikawa on the shoulder.

"Hm? Dashi-chan? Why are you here?" Oikawa blinked in confusion.

"Oikawa..."

* * *

_I'm sorry. I'm confessing to Oikawa today. Please don't be angry._

Naoko's heart stopped when she read those damning words on her phone. As soon as the bus doors opened, Naoko dashed outside without even a word of goodbye to the martial arts club boys.

"Makoshima-senpai?!"

"Oi, princess, where ya going?!"

"Damn, she runs fast!"

 _No!_ Naoko screamed in her mind, the bruises on her face aching as the wind blew against them.  _Don't let me be too late!_ She couldn't bear the idea of her brother confessing to Oikawa. This was a mistake. When he had confessed to Ichirou, it had gone all wrong. She couldn't let history repeat itself. And... and...

_What if he says yes?_

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that... that...

She didn't  _want_ him to say yes.

Naoko ran even faster to where the volleyball club's gym was, peering inside. Neither Tadashi or Oikawa were inside. She could have sworn Iwaizumi looked at her for one brief moment before she left.

 _Where else could they be?_ She ran into the school building, searching the side which leaned toward the gyms. She exited through the side door, which opened up to an outside stairwell. And below—

Her breath hitched as Oikawa's eyes met hers from ground.

* * *

"Kageyama-kun..." Honda blushed, her eyes becoming hooded as she looked at the ground. "I like you. Will you please go out with me?" She looked up at him hopefully, her eyes sparkling with hope.

* * *

"Oikawa..." Tadashi bowed to him. "I-I have feelings for you! Will you go out with me?"

Oikawa stared at the boy bowing before him before moving his gaze upward to stare at the stricken Naoko. Her eyes were wide with fear and—was that devastation?—as she watched the scene unfold hopelessly. Her face was totally bruised, which made her look even more pitiful.

He got the message pretty clear.

_Please don't hurt him. Whatever you do, please don't hurt him._

Iwaizumi's voice rang in his head.

_"Don't give me that kindergarten bully bullshit, because you're a fucking nineteen year old man and you're going to act like one, do you hear me?"_

_Please don't hurt him. Whatever you do, please don't hurt him._

Oikawa held all the cards now.

"Dashi-chan," he started, stopping abruptly as he contemplated on how to continue.

Naoko was still staring at him, hoping with all her heart that he wouldn't be mean about it.

_Please don't hurt him._

Exhaling, Oikawa gently touched Tadashi's shoulder. It was strange, touching his longtime enemy, but it'd have to do. "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept your feelings. I don't feel the same way about you as you do about me. I..." His gaze flickered upward momentarily, "already like someone else. But thank you for confessing."

Tadashi's eyes were devastating to look into. He slowly stood back up to his full height. "O-oh," he stuttered, struggling to find his voice. "Okay. Thank you anyway. We can still be friends, right?"

The words came to him far more easily than he was comfortable with. "Of course." Oikawa didn't know whether he was lying or not.  _Do I really want to be friends with him?_

Maybe it was time to put the past behind them.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you back in grade school," Tadashi apologized, his entire body shaking, suddenly bowing again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Oikawa felt Naoko's gaze bore into his head. "I..."

Tadashi continued to bow.

Naoko didn't stop staring, her entire body tense.

"I forgive you," Oikawa finally ground out.

"... Thank you." Tadashi rose again. "Oikawa... is it okay if I go home instead? Naachan's bus would have arrived by now and..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say, his eyes shining with tears.

"I understand," Oikawa said evenly.

Tadashi gave him a weak smile. "I'll see you on Monday."

So he wasn't going to come practice on the weekend either, Oikawa noted.

"See you then, Dashi-chan." He paused, wondering if Tadashi ever liked that name to begin with, but changing it now might hurt him even more.

Then he was gone.

Oikawa could hear him cry softly to himself as he went away. He looked up at the stairwell, where Naoko had visibly relaxed. She descended the stairs, stopping a few feet in front of Oikawa.

He tried not to look too shocked when she bowed to him.

"Thank you, Tooru."

Before he could reply, she was gone as well, chasing after her brother, leaving Oikawa to grasp what exactly had just happened. He smiled to himself, though it was not proud or smug—it was genuine, solemn, and maybe a little sad as well.

_You're full of surprises, aren't you, Mako-chan? I think that's what I like about you the most._

After filling up the rest of the bottles, Oikawa walked back to the gym, humming quietly but happily.

* * *

Kageyama stared at her. So  _this_ was what she had called him here for? A... confession, was it? He had never had anyone confess to him before. It was a new experience for him.

"Um..." Kageyama lowered his gaze uncertainly. "I'm sorry, Honda-san, but I don't like you that way."  _And I don't think I ever will._ But Honda didn't need to know that last part.

"Ah." Honda wilted visibly, though she plastered a smile on her face to try and hide the pain. "Um, Kageyama-kun... I'm just curious when I ask..." She sighed. "Why don't you?"

Well, maybe because she was an annoying busybody who kept sticking her beak into everybody's business but Kageyama certainly wasn't going to tell her that. "Because..." Sumire came into his mind. Annoying, short, self-proclaimed introverted Sumire. What was that feeling when he thought about her? She made him happy, just like volleyball did. Even  _more so_ at times. What did that mean? Did it mean that... that... "I think I like someone else."

"Oh." Honda smiled sadly. "I understand. Have you... confessed to them yet?"

"No," Kageyama said shortly.

"Well, you probably should then. That's what you do, you know, when you like someone. You confess to them." She shook her head. "You're so clueless sometimes, Kageyama-kun. But any girl would be lucky to have you. I'm sorry that it wasn't me." She chuckled lowly. "I went through a lot of lengths to try and get to you, you know."

"Oh," Kageyama said, feeling a bit awkward at not knowing how to respond. "So I should confess?"

"Mmhm. I'm sure Sumire would appreciate it."

"Are you sure—wait." He narrowed his eyes at her. "How did you know?"

Honda giggled. "It's so obvious. She's the only girl that you ever interact with. And no, your mother doesn't count. So go get her, okay? Before someone else does." Her heart ached but she was surprisingly fine with that. If Kageyama didn't like her back... well, she couldn't do anything about that, could she?

"Thank you," Kageyama blurted. "For telling me that. I'm going to go tell her now."

"You do that. I'll see you on Monday, Kageyama-kun."

"Yeah. See you."

As Kageyama walked away, Honda sighed to herself and pressed her back against the tree, glancing up to look at the soft blue afternoon sky.

Despite the earlier rain, it was a beautiful day.

"Sumire!" Kageyama shouted as he entered the gym, the bag he was holding bouncing on his leg. His face was fixed in a glare, which was unsurprising for everyone.

"Kageyama?" Sumire blinked at him. "How did things go with Honda?"

He ignored her, taking out what was in the huge bag. A sleek violin case. But it was what was inside it that was important. Without wasting time, he clicked the case open and pulled out the black electric violin Sumire had always wanted.

By now, all the Karasuno boys had stopped laughing at Noya's new and improved Rolling Thunder and were staring at Kageyama and Sumire.

"I like you," Kageyama declared, holding the violin up to her. There was no going back now. "Go out with me."

There was a hush. Even Tsukishima looked mildly surprised at Kageyama's sudden and blunt confession.

All eyes were on them.

Slowly, Sumire took the violin from him, running her hands down the sleek bow and instrument. Then she set it aside, looking up at him. He had the most utmost look of seriousness on his face.

It was cute, if she had to be honest with herself.

Grinning, she replied, "After this, there's no way I don't like you back. Where do you want to go?"

The Karasuno boys went ballistic, Noya and Tanaka cheering Kageyama on and slapping his back, much to the surprise of the setter. Hinata was doing something similar, practically bouncing around him.

They crowded Sumire as well, Tsukishima sneaking in an insult or two through his congratulatory words. Yamaguchi was much nicer about it, even giving her a small hug.

Sumire smiled to herself, flushing as she picked up her new violin and held it close to her heart.

It was a beautiful day.

* * *

"What kind of run down shop is this?" Jun exclaimed as he and Taiga entered the Sakanoshita Store.

"The only one in the area that will hire two thirteen year olds like us," Taiga replied.

"Twelve," Jun corrected.

"Whatever."

"Hey, what're you kids doing in here?" A scary-looking man with dyed blonde hair swept back in some kind of headband entered the store.

"We're here to seek work," Taiga explained. "And... possibly, refuge."

"Refuge?" Ukai Keishin raised an eyebrow at them. "Don't you guys have a home?"

"No," they answered in unison. Where they came from, there was no home. There wasn't a home without a heart.

"Then how the hell have you been surviving?! Your parents—"

"Are dead," Taiga finished. They might as well be if their father let their stepmother get away with hitting them.

He scowled at them. "One night. Only because it's getting late. First thing tomorrow, I'm calling your school. Kitagawa, right?"

"How did you—" Taiga slapped a hand over her brother's mouth but it was too late.

Ukai smirked. "Just a hunch. But thanks for confirming it."

Suddenly, Jun's phone rang. He paled when he saw who it was from. "It's from Kaede's okaa-san."

Taiga swore and snatched the phone from him. "I'll handle this. Hello?"

 _"Where the hell have you been?!"_ their stepmother shrieked.  _"I will hit you with your father's belt when you get home!"_

"I'm at the Sakanoshita Store," Taiga said boldly. "We're going to work there and live there." She passed a pleading look at Ukai, who looked outraged. "Please," she mouthed to him. "You don't want us around, kaa-san, you've made that clear," Taiga went on before her stepmother could start screaming. "So just let us go, okay? We'll be living with a man called..."

Ukai sighed in defeat. From what he was hearing, these kids really needed the support. And he had room at his place since it was just him... there was booze and cigarettes, but that could easily be cleaned up. Besides, it wasn't as if they were little kids... they were going to work here too. He grabbed the phone from Taiga. "Ukai Keishin. I'll look after your children from now on, ma'am, if I have your permission."

It was silent on the other end.

Then she screamed,  _"Fine! Just take the stupid brats! God knows that I don't care! They were just burdens anyway!"_

That was all Ukai needed to hear. He clicked the red button. "She said yes." He narrowed his eyes. "But you'd better prepare to pay your dues. In exchange, you're going to work here at the store for free, got it? And if you misbehave, I'm kicking you brats out."  _Yeesh, I'd better not end up regretting this._

"Right!" the twins chorused, grinning.

This was the start of a new life for them.

* * *

"I'm going to my room," was the first thing Tadashi said when they got home, Naoko closing the front door behind them.

"Okay," she answered quietly.

As soon as he was gone, she could hear weeping coming from his room. Sighing, Naoko tossed the keys on the kitchen table and removed her jacket.

Then she walked to Tadashi's room, knocking on the door once before entering. Her brother was curled up on the bed, sobbing into his knees, his shoulders wracking with each sob.

Quietly, she climbed onto his bed and held him tight, rocking him back and forth. She remained silent the whole time, even when he finally cried himself to exhaustion and fell asleep in her arms.

It was the least she could do.

* * *

_**A/N I literally spent the entire day working on this so I hope you like it. Taiga and Jun will only be background characters from now on. Keishin has taken them in. Which, if you think about it, wouldn't be that strange. If two abused children came to me and sought refuge, I would give it to them in a heartbeat. While Keishin might be lazy and crude, he's also kind and caring.** _

_**And the confessions...! *clutches heart* Hope the execution wasn't TOO cringey.** _

_***Heavenly Cross Attack is a move that Namu, from Dragon Ball, uses. I really delved into a bit of Dragon Ball with this chapter. Especially with the format of the tournament.** _

_**This is the end of Season One! Season Two will consist of arcs 4, 5, and 6.** _


	39. Armageddon

_I'm going back to my roof._

—  _Naoko Makoshima_

* * *

The fountain in the middle of the courtyard bubbled and splashed as the students of Aobajosai poured in through the front gate, faces bright and chattering amongst each other. It was just another start of a school day; peaceful, serene and—

"AAAAHHHH!"

Toshio charged through the crowd, multiple sheets of paper crammed between his armpits. He was already sweating, having run to school all the way from his house, which was a good few miles away. A pair of black rimmed glasses were sitting skewed on the bridge of his nose as he sprinted toward the school building like he was trying to catch the last bus to school.

"Excuse me—whoop, sorry! Student representative coming through! Pardon me, ladies!"

Girls screamed and tried to push their skirts down as the wind generated from Toshio's dash caused said skirts to fly upwards.

"Pervert!"

"Oi, pal, that's my girlfriend!"

"GOOD MORNING, NAOKO!" Toshio practically shouted in the girl's ear as he flew past her, the human counterpart of Sonic the Hedgehog. He even had the blue hair to match. "I'LL SEE YOU AT THE CLUB ROOM!"

Naoko blinked in confusion. "Good morning?" Well, this was an interesting start to the October month. Their school culture festival would be coming up soon, as well as Tadashi's birthday, which was next month. Her face was now completely devoid of the bruises that Izumi had gave her.

Speaking of Izumi, the girl never did come back to school after the tournament. According to the gossip, she had moved somewhere far, far away. Yuki Toriyama had practically gone bankrupt from the amount of money that she was sued of. Tori was pulled out from Aobajosai—her mother could no longer afford to keep her in a private school, especially with her absymal grades—and was now attending a public school. Sometimes, Naoko saw her smoking her life away in the neighborhood.

Her sister Sumire and Kageyama had started dating, though their relationship didn't really change much. Naoko was pleased to know that Kageyama hadn't kissed Sumire yet (though she was half-hoping that he would do so maybe at around Christmas time).

The volleyball club and the martial arts club had learned to put some of their differences aside, though they frequently butted heads over the amount of noise one club or another made.

At least they didn't swear at each other or threaten to get into fights with each other anymore.

Naoko sighed through her nose. It seemed like the peaceful days weren't going to last very long. She was already steeling herself to face whatever ridiculous scheme Toshio had undoubtedly conjured up.

After changing into her indoor shoes, she immediately made her way to the drama club room. Thanks to the tournament, the Sendai Standoff and other things, she had forced to neglect her school club (not that she really minded).

"Naoko, you're here!" Midori squealed, bouncing up to her and opening her arms. "Can I have a hug?"

"Ah... sure," Naoko answered awkwardly.

"Yay!" The green-haired girl squeezed her for a few seconds before pulling back and grinning. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Midori, I saw you last week."

"Exactly! Ages!"

"Anyone got any idea why our esteemed class representative looks like he's about to wet himself?" Leiko drawled, gesturing with her thumb to a comically excited Toshio. The flyers that had been squashed beneath his armpits earlier that morning were now neatly piled on the table. "And why the hell is he wearing glasses?" As if to make a point, she pushed her own pair of spectacles up her nose.

"Ohohoho!" Toshio crowed. "You see, my dear, naive classmate, I look  _far_ more mature with glasses on than I do without!"

"Really?" Katsumi ogled him. "... You kinda look the same. Except dorkier."

"She's got you there," Ayame added.

"He looks exactly the same to me," Naoko deadpanned, not really seeing much difference between a glasses-wearing Toshio and a non-glasses-wearing Toshio.

"Maybe  _you_ should get glasses then," Leiko teased.

"I do wear glasses," Naoko stated, earning some surprised looks. "I just don't wear them all the time. In fact, I only wear them when I'm doing homework."

" _Anyway_ ," Toshio coughed, diverting the attention back to him. "People feel more comfortable when their Student President seems like he has more candles on his cake."

Everyone stared at him.

"Eh?! Student President?!"

"Hi, everyone!" Tachibana burst in, her ahoge wobbling a bit on her head before settling. Her red rimmed glasses were set perfectly on her nose. Today, she was wearing a mellow yellow cardigan over a light purple dress. "Sorry I'm late, the coffee machine was acting up."

"It's okay, sensei!" everyone except Leiko, Shinji and Naoko chorused.

"I hope everybody has been working hard at home," Tachibana said. "You won't be able to learn all of your lines if you only try during rehearsal periods. Do you all have your scripts with you?"

They did, and began practicing right away.

Though she hated to admit it, Naoko was struggling particularly hard at this activity. Memorizing lines wasn't her problem: it was portraying her character's emotions and feelings.

In their Cinderella pantomime, Katsumi was playing Prince Charming, Midori was Buttons, Leiko and Toshio were the Ugly Stepsisters (much to their dismay), Shinji was Dandini, and Naoko...

Tachibana had somehow gotten it in her head that Naoko would make the perfect Cinderella.

Which was annoyingly not the case.

"Couldn't I have gotten a part in the chorus?" she had asked Tachibana one day.

"Sorry, but I want all my drama club cuties to be up front and center!" Tachibana had replied.

For the pantomime, the music club had agreed to work the drama club to produce it. The choir section of the music club had been recruited to play as the chorus. Other members of the music club were also producing some music to fit the pantomime. A girl from the very same club had scored a part as the Fairy Godmother and shy, sweet Fujikawa Haruka was playing the Wicked Stepmother.

After rehearsals, there was still ten minutes left to spare before classes began.

"Naoko," Tachibana chided, her eyebrows knitted in concern, "you really must try harder to convey Cinderella's feelings. She's a girl who's just experienced a magical night and is in love with her handsome prince!" She sighed. "Oh, can't you try to relate?"

"I am trying," Naoko protested mildly.

"Could you pretty please try harder?"

"Erm... okay."

"Thank you!" Tachibana grabbed her hands, smiling. "That's all I need to hear, Naoko!"

After rehearsals were over, there were still ten minutes to spare before classes began.

"Hey, Toshio, what did you mean before when you said something about the Student President?" Ayame wondered.

"Ah!" Tachibana jumped at her question. "I guess you guys have been so busy with rehearsing that you didn't really get to hear the news. Did you know that Watanabe Emiko has been expelled? Apparently a lot of the parents complained and her father wasn't able to do anything about it. Her expulsion means that the position of Student President is now up for grabs. A lot of students have already started their campaign."

"That's right, sensei!" Toshio added, "And I'm one of them. So vote for me guys! And do you think you could help me put up these posters?" Like a whirlwind, he shoved the flyers advertising his qualities into the arms of everyone.

"Amazing!" Midori screeched, her eyes sparkling as she gobbled up the visuals of the poster.

"It's... interesting," was all Ayame could say as she sweatdropped at the flyers. It had been designed so that Toshio's face covered pretty much the entire thing. There were words written in the sections that his head didn't cover; things like "Vote for Kitamura Toshio!" or "Kitamura for President!" and even "All hail the great Kitamura!"

"It... certainly is!" Katsumi supplied, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Right, Leiko?"

"This is the most hideous thing I've ever seen."

"Geh!" An angry vein appeared on Toshio's cheek. "You... have no appreciation for art, do you?!"

"It  _is_ pretty ugly," Shinji agreed, glancing over the flyer with his usual bored expression.

"Geez, what a bunch of heretics... what do you think, Naoko?" Toshio turned to the one girl who hadn't said anything about it yet.

"I don't know what to think," Naoko admitted.  _How do I even begin to explain...?_

"Toshio, darling," Tachibana began, looking mildly concerned. "Are you sure you want these to be plastered around the school?"

"Of course! All the other candidates are already making their move. I can't let them get too far ahead of me."

"This is so ridiculously narcissistic that I want to barf," Leiko gagged. "Who the hell wants to see this?"

"Hrr, Leiko!" Toshio leaned across Naoko to glare at the bespectacled girl. "Like you can do any better!"

"I can," Leiko said flippantly, yawning. "But I guess you won't believe me unless I can prove it to you... right?" She smirked. "I guess that only leaves me one option..."

Toshio narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't tell me—"

Leiko held out her hand to him mockingly, forcing Naoko to lean back in her seat even further. "I look forward to seeing your face when I crush you and the rest of the competition."

The student representative shook her hand without hesitation, challenge in his eyes. "Bring it."

Naoko sighed to herself. She had been right. The peaceful days really were over.

* * *

Every once a month, the cafeteria would serve the most melt in your mouth triple chocolate cake. It was rich, fluffy and spongy—everything you would want to taste, feel and  _experience_ when eating a cake. It brought joy to the students whenever this rare event occurred.

However, it also brought with it chaos.

And today happened to be the day where the lunch ladies decided it would be a good time to announce that they were serving the cake again.

"COME AND GET 'EM!"

The cafeteria was utter pandemonium as students poured in like they had just experienced the Exodus. Kids pushed, shoved and even stepped over one another to try and get a slice of the cake before it ran out.

"They're like animals," Naoko muttered to herself, sweatdropping at the long, chaotic line—it couldn't even be called a line, really—that had formed quickly at the canteen. She too had come down from her classroom to snatch herself a slice, but it looked as if she was already too late.  _Oh well. There's always next month._

"Hey, Naoko!" Midori was waving to her from one of the tables. She was sitting with Katsumi, Fujikawa Haruka, and Ayame. All of them had chocolate cakes. "Come sit with us!"

Naoko stared at them from across the room.  _Huh...? Why?_ Unsure, she slowly made her way to them, awkwardly sitting down beside Ayame, who gave her a kind smile.

"This is the first time I've ever seen you down here," Ayame said, looking a tad curious. "Where do you normally sit?"

"On the roof," she answered shortly, knowing that no one here would betray her to any of the teachers.

Ayame nodded. "Ballsy of you. Who do you sit with?"

"No one."

"Hold up," Katsumi held up a finger, eyes wide, "You're telling me that you don't sit with  _anyone_?"

"Sometimes Oikawa comes up to bother me and invites me to sit at his table," she informed the pinkette. "But I've always preferred the outside. And I don't mind being alone either. Even now, he still comes up to bother me though." She didn't really mind him visiting, but she wished that he would stop pestering her about sitting with his friends.

Haruka stared at her in disbelief. "Oikawa asks you but you refuse him?! How?!"

_What do you mean how?_ Naoko thought. "Because I don't want to...?"

"You should sit with us," Midori said cheerfully. "You don't have to be alone all the time. We're your friends, you know."

"We are?" Naoko blurted, surprised.

"Well,  _duh_." Midori giggled. "You're so silly sometimes, Naoko."

Distractedly, she grabbed a plate of uneaten chocolate cake and pulled it toward her before taking a bite out of it using the fork. "Okay. I'll sit with you then."  _I guess it could be a nice change... and if I don't enjoy it, I can always go back up to the roof._ It was only then she realized that she was currently swallowing chewed up cake. "Oh, sorry. I didn't bring any lunch today and didn't eat breakfast either since I was running a bit late. I'm very hungry. Whose cake is this?" She hadn't even realized that she had even been eating the delicious dessert.

Ayame bit her lip. "Er—"

"GAAAHHH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Toshio screeched as he suddenly appeared at their table, tears in his eyes. "MY PRECIOUS CAKE! I GO TO THE BATHROOM FOR TWO MINUTES AND THIS HAPPENS?! I WAITED FIVE MONTHS FOR THAT CAKE!"

"Sorry," Naoko said immediately. "I'll go get you another one—"

"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!" Toshio snapped, gesturing wildly to the empty cake platter that the lunch lady was currently washing. "THERE'S NONE LEFT!"

"It was an accident," Naoko explained, unruffled by him raising his voice at her. The kid was all bark and no bite. "I was very hungry and I couldn't help myself."

"It's true, Kitamura-kun," the shy Haruka said. "She was totally spacing out when she ate it. We couldn't even stop her before she ate the first bite."

"FIVE MONTHS! FIVE. MONTHS."

Naoko pushed the plate of half-eaten cake toward him. "You can have the rest if you want."  _Just stop complaining already._ His voice was even louder than Oikawa's and that was saying something.

But Toshio stared at it in disgust, as if the cake had just grown legs and crawled out of the sewer. "No way! You've already eaten from it! That's gross."

Her stomach growled as she pulled the cake back to her. "Then I'm sure that you won't mind if I finish it."

"I DO MIND! THAT'S  _MY_ CAKE!"

She pushed it toward him again, unimpressed. "Then eat it."

"NO! IT'S ALL GROSS NOW!"

"I'll eat it then."

Toshio stared at her in disbelief. "BUT IT'S  _MY CAKE_!"

"Toshio, calm down," Ayame tried, exasperated. "She didn't mean to. Stop acting so childish and eat it or let her eat it."

"Yeah, man," Katsumi added, "she didn't eat breakfast, you know."

"P-please?" Haruka gave Toshio the puppy dog eyes.

By now, pretty much the entire school was witnessing Toshio's tantrum.

_If he really wants to run for Student President then he seriously needs to stop overreacting so much,_ Naoko thought.

Toshio wasn't cowed by the girls' reasoning. He glared venomously at Naoko, who returned his gaze evenly. "When I become Student President, I'll—"

"You'll what?" a familiar voice purred, and Naoko found a feminine arm slinging around her shoulders. "Who do you think you are? Bullying your underclassman like this." Leiko sighed dramatically. "Look at this, everyone. Do you really want this sort of guy as your president? Only a really shitty guy would bully a poor, defenseless girl over something as trivial as  _cake._ "

People began to nod.

"She's right. What a mean guy!"

"That's Park Leiko, right? Well, she's got my vote."

"She seemed kinda mean at first but she's actually really nice! Sticking up for that small girl like that. The poor thing's probably only a first year."

Naoko tried not to look too shocked.  _What the hell even is this anymore?_

Leiko continued to play masterfully to the crowd's empathy. "Look how sad she is now!"

"I'm not sad—" Naoko was cut off by Leiko.

"Her eyes are all watery!" Leiko jabbed a thumb at Haruka, Katsumi, Midori and Ayame, who all looked perplexed. "And when her friends tried to stick up for her, he yelled at them too! Look at poor Fujikawa Haruka! She's already crying."

"Huh?" Haruka blinked confusedly. "I'm not crying—"

"Oh, please!" Toshio sneered. "The only reason she's crying is because of how fake you're being!" He regarded the growing crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, Park Leiko, resident queen of salt! If anything, she's reason that Haruka is crying! You all know Leiko... I bet most of you have seen her make someone cry at least once!"

"Um, I'm not crying—"

"Look at all those tears!" Toshio exclaimed, effectively interrupting Haruka's protests.

Everyone's opinion began to change again.

"Now that I think about it, Leiko did make fun of the sweater my grandmother made me."

"She said that my dad looks really old."

"She kicked my puppy!"

"Ah, but that was the old me!" Leiko even shed a tear for extra effect before bowing to her audience. "I have changed my ways, I promise you." She lifted her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I will be the best Student President ever!"

"Lies! It's all lies!" Toshio cried. "Just being around her makes me want to cry because I know she's always got an insult ready for everyone! Your grandma's sweater? She thinks it deserves to be left in the woods so a pregnant stray cat can have its babies on it! Your father? She thinks he should be in a box floating down the river! And your puppy? Hah! Don't even get me started!"

Naoko got up, unwilling to be caught in the crossfire any longer. "I'm going back to my roof."

"I'll come with you," Midori piped, picking up her bento and cake.

"Same here," Ayame added, Katsumi following her lead.

"Umm, me too, if you don't mind..." Haruka said shyly.

As the girls left, leaving Toshio and Leiko to spit insults at each other to decrease the other's reputation, Oikawa grinned as he sipped his juice and poked at his chocolate cake. A few of his adoring fangirls had fought their way to the front of the line just to get him a slice.

"Those two lovebirds are so entertaining," he remarked. "Don't you think so?"

"Lovebirds?" Makki squinted at them. "Um, you might want to get some new glasses."

"He's getting blinded by our fabulousness," Mattsun said seriously, Makki nodding at his wise words.

"Weren't you going to run for Student President?" Iwaizumi asked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend. "That's what you said last week."

"I  _was_ but..." Oikawa gestured to the quarreling Toshio and Leiko. "Somehow, I don't feel like this is worth the trouble."

Iwaizumi stared at the pair—he could have sworn they were literally spitting fire for a second—for a few moments before turning back to Oikawa. "You know, for once, you're probably right."

"Oh no," Makki said, "you know what that means, right? When Oikawa actually says something useful."

"How mean!" pouted Oikawa, putting his juice down.

"What does it mean?" asked a naive Tadashi.

"That the school is doomed," Iwaizumi answered, sighing.

* * *

_**A/N: Here it is, the first chapter of Season Two! *rubs hands* Hopefully, this is gonna be fun...** _

 


	40. An Unwilling Candidate

_**A/N: This arc focuses solely on the happenings in Aobajosai, so we'll have literally no other characters from different schools, even Sumire and Kageyama. They'll be back next arc.** _

* * *

_Ultimately, the question of campaign contributions will be decided by the public._

—  _Stephen Breyer_

* * *

Naoko took a deep breath of the outside air. Finally, peace and quiet.

"Uwaah, check out the view!" Katsumi gasped, having never been on the roof before.

Well, the quiet was nice while it lasted anyway.

"It's r-really spectacular..." Haruka commented in her whispery, lamb-like voice. "I've never been up here before. Sometimes I wish I had..."

"Maybe because it's against the school rules to come up here?" Ayame pointed out. "But you're right, it is a nice view."

"Wheeeee!" Midori was cartwheeling all over the place. "Look at me, guys, I'm Spiderguy!"

Naoko sweatdropped at Midori's impromptu circus act. "Please be careful. We're about three storeys up, you know."  _She wasn't this excited the first time she came up here._

"I will, I will," Midori reassured as she did a backflip. "Besides, there's a metal fencing. No big deal!"

The girls all sat down on the floor in the circle, eating their cake and bento as they talked. Naoko quietly listened, taking small bites of her (Toshio's) cake in order to savor the delicious treat. Midori offered Naoko some of her lunch—a few slices of grilled pineapple and tempura—which the raven-haired girl gratefully took, gobbling up the food.

It was only when her (newfound?) friends begun to talk about Leiko and Toshio's rivalry did Naoko become more invested in their conversation.

"So," Ayame said, "what do you guys think of this... fight Leiko and Toshio are having?" She was eating a chocolate cornet that she had brought from home, ripping off the small end to dip it in the chocolate filling.

"It's kinda silly," Katsumi answered, sipping a juicebox, her brows knitted together worriedly. "It's not like Leiko to get caught up in this kind of stuff, but..."

"Maybe not," Naoko mused, "but if one-upping Toshio is involved, I'm not really that surprised."  _They've never gotten along well; they're like oil and water._ If that was so, would that mean that the campaigning stage for student presidency was the lit match?

"I-I d-didn't realize they h-h-hated each other this much," Haruka murmured. "They're really going at it." A rare look of annoyance came over her face. "I wasn't even crying back there...!"

"Aw, they don't  _hate_ each other," Midori proclaimed, waving her hand at Haruka's statement. "In fact, according to all the shoujo manga I read, it actually means the opposite!"

Naoko frowned. "What do you mean?"  _I think it's pretty clear that they hate each other. Or at least strongly dislike. Why else would they go through all these lengths to try and outdo one another?_

Midori was nodding sagely. "Silly Naoko! That's the only way they know how to show affection, you see. By constantly insulting and putting each other down." She squealed, clutching her face in delight. "Ohh, they're so awkward that it's cute! Just like in anime!"

"Oh, oh!" Katsumi's eyes lit up. "I get what you mean! It's like the old boy hates girl and girl hates boy, but they secretly adore one another and act sweet when they're alone! How romantic!"

 _... I don't get it,_ Naoko thought, staring at the pinkette in confusion.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but when have you ever seen them act sweet around each other?" Ayame pointed out. "Plus, they don't even have each others' phone numbers. I really doubt they ever get any time alone."

"I have to agree with Ayame," Naoko added, calmly finishing up the rest of her cake with just a pang of regret. "These kinds of situations may exist in the fictional world, but this is reality. It doesn't work that way in the real world."

"You guys are no fun," Midori whined, pouting.

"Honestly, I'm more w-worried about what's going to happen if either of them win," Haruka said nervously. "They'd run the school down to ruins..."

"It's true," Ayame said, ever the voice of reason. "Toshio's only doing this to be more popular and admired. And Leiko's only doing it because she wants to beat Toshio. Neither of them actually  _care_ about the school or the students' wellbeing."

"What about the other candidates?" Naoko asked.

"The only other candidates are pretty unpopular from what I've heard," Katsumi said. "Some obese kid in the otaku club and a delinquent that got suspended yesterday. I dunno why, but no one seems to want to run for Student President. I guess everyone is already in a club with lots of commitments..."

"Ah." Naoko's gaze flattened. "Of course. So it's going to be either Toshio or Leiko..."  _Ayame's right though. If either of them get elected, they'll take the school down with them._ "This is going to be a problem."

Haruka nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." She giggled. "I was going to run as well, but after that incident in the cafeteria..." She shrugged. "I doubt I'd win anyway... Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Midori, Ayame and Katsumi were all staring bug-eyed at the dandere girl like she was the solution to all their problems. Even Naoko was giving her a small, slightly devious smile.

The class representative of class 2-5 gulped and shirked away like the small violet she was. "Umm, guys..."

"Oh, come on!" Midori exclaimed, looking like an energizer bunny that had just consumed three extra large packets of sugar. "You have to run! You might not think it, but you're actually pretty popular! Why do you think everyone got so worked up when you were crying in the cafeteria?"

"Huh?!" Haruka spluttered. "I-I wasn't crying—"

Katsumi was nodding. "You've got the looks for it, Haru! Just the right amount of delicateness, clumsiness and, most importantly,  _moe_! You're like an anime girl personified!"

"You're so cute that people will just  _have_ to vote for you," Ayame gushed through a mouthful of chocolate cornet pastry.

"B-but I don't even know how to be a leader..."

"Leadership ability is just something you'll pick up on the job," Naoko advised her, "You won't be alone, you know. You'll have the rest of the Student Council by your side to advise you on making decisions."

"And us too!" Midori added, grinning. "We'll stand by you, Haruka! If you ever need us, we'll be here for you, okay?"

"Please run, Haru," Katsumi cried, "or the school will be doomed!"

"Oh, alright," Haruka sighed, "but what if Toshio and Leiko go after me...?"

Naoko's eyes steeled. "Let them try." As if there were some dark aura surrounding her, all the girls scooted just a tad further away from her. "Haruka, if anything Midori said back at the cafeteria meant anything, it means that I'm your friend now, whether you like it or not."

"Uh," Ayame said, "I don't think that's how friendship works—"

"Which means that I'm going to help you," Naoko continued like Ayame hadn't even spoken, "We all are. Whether you like it or not. Got it?"

Haruka laughed nervously. "Umm, I think that last part w-was a l-little unnecessary but okay...!"

"Oh, Ayame!" Midori tossed an arm around her best friend. "Don't you see? This is just Naoko's way of saying that she'll support Haruka! Sure, there could be better ways, but that's just how she is!"

"I guess you're right," Ayame said. "She kinda handles things like a tank... a force of nature."

"Yep!"

Naoko deadpanned at them. "I don't understand."  _What are they trying to say?_

They all exchanged an amused glance before laughing, causing poor Naoko to become even more bewildered.

"Heehee!" Katsumi giggled. "Don't worry about it Naoko! We like you just the way you are! You're one of us now."

"Katsumi's right," Ayame added. "You're our friend—we're not making fun of you if that's what you're worried about. I think your blunt tendencies are actually really endearing!"

Naoko couldn't believe what she was hearing.  _Endearing...?_ "Erm..."

"SHE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED!" Midori caterwauled, hugging Naoko. "Also, can we call you Naachan? It sounds cuter."

Naoko stiffened in her embrace. 'Naachan' was a name that she strictly reserved for friends and family (and the odd Umeko, who was her boss so she couldn't really object). But... these girls... they were her friends now, weren't they? She had known them for months but, up until this point, she had only considered them acquaintances and classmates. But they... they... they had helped her when she was in need—when Sumire had gone missing.

They had been her friends for ages now.

But she hadn't been  _their_ friend.

Now that she was, however...

"Okay," she relented, a faint smile on her lips.

"Yay!" Midori cheered. "Naachan, Naachan, Naachan!"

"Please get off," Naoko said tonelessly.

"Oops, sorry!" A devilish grin came over Midori's face. "Hey, girls... why don't we all give her a hug?"

Naoko flinched away from them. "I—"

"Good idea," Katsumi nodded. "DOGPILE, EVERYONE!"

"Geeh?!" Naoko was pushed backward by Katsumi as the pink-haired girl hugged her, practically squashing the girl. With an excited squeal, Midori joined in, then Ayame, and a cautious Haruka.

"I hope we're not hurting you," Haruka said softly.

Naoko sighed. Even that was difficult, considering she had four girls crushing her small body. "I'm... fine." And, to her great surprise, she really  _was_ fine with it.

* * *

"Yoohoo, Mako-chan~" Oikawa greeted as he sauntered up to the girl, who was waiting at the front gates of the school, dressed casually. "Waiting for Dashi-chan?"

"Yeah," Naoko replied, giving him a small wave.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about... you see, Dashi-chan will be joining us for a ramen dinner tonight," Oikawa told her. "Are you okay with that? Me and Iwa-chan will walk him home if it makes you feel better."

"Ramen dinner..." Naoko frowned. "I guess Tadashi-nii should be allowed to spend time with his friends outside of school and practice... But please do walk him home, and don't stay out too late, okay? It's a school night."

Oikawa snickered. "I won't. You're so cute, Mako-chan, acting all motherly like that... You're even worse than Iwa-chan, I swear."

"Promise me that you'll bring him home before nine."

"Fine, fine, I promise. Don't worry too much, okay?" His eyes lit up. "That reminds me... mind filling me in on what was happening between you and the two meganes at lunch?" Not that he didn't already know—everything spread like wildfire in their school—but it'd be refreshing to hear it from her point of view.

"I accidentally ate Toshio's cake, he got mad, Leiko came, and they started fighting," Naoko summarized. "That's all there really is to it."

 _Well, that was disappointing,_  Oikawa thought with a pout.  _But..._ A mischievous smile tugged at his lips. "Mako-chan, how do you  _accidentally_ eat a cake?"

"I was hungry," Naoko protested, "I didn't even realize I was eating it until it was too late."

Oikawa heaved a dramatic sigh. "I really wish that you would stop spacing out,  _oyster-chan_."

"And I really wish that you'd stop yapping, dumb chihuahua, but that's obviously not happening anytime soon, is it?"

"Geh! So mean!" Oikawa clutched his heart. "I thought you loved me, Mako-chan," he sniffled, crocodile tears in his eyes. "I'm going to die from a broken heart."

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" Naoko said dryly.

He winked at her. "Maybe you could try giving me a kiss?"

"Only if you get checked for any diseases first."

"Ack! Mako-chan!" Oikawa smirked. "I can assure you that I have no diseases. Does that mean you'll—"

"No."

"Worth a try. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Mako-chan. Don't miss me too much~"

When he was gone, Naoko began to walk away into the sunset, no longer having a reason to stay.

* * *

"What," Naoko deadpanned as Toshio held out a packet of matcha Pocky to her. Hanging on his arms were several baskets, all of them filled to the brim with an assortment of Pocky biscuits, all different flavors.

"It's part of my campaign!" Toshio explained, obviously pleased with himself. "Oh, do you want a different flavor? Because I get that matcha might not be everyone's thing—"

"No," Naoko cut him off. "It's fine. Thank you...?"

"You're welcome. Just remember to vote for me, okay?"

Naoko stared after him as he pranced away, handing out Pocky to students as if he were some Pocky version of the Easter Bunny.

"Wow, thanks, Kitamura-kun! Keep this up and I might vote for you," one girl said, taking her Pocky gratefully.

"My favorite flavor!" another girl cried as Toshio handed her a cookies and cream Pocky packet. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome ladies!" Naoko comically imagined his nose growing longer as he was showered with praise from the female students.

But then the talk began to change.

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Hurry up, guys, otherwise we'll miss out!"

The students began to swarm and gather away from Toshio, who blinked in confusion as his adoring crowd abandoned him.

"Excuse me," Naoko said, tapping one girl on the shoulder. "Where is everyone going?"

"Park Leiko is handing out limited edition gari-gari kuns as part of her campaign," the girl replied with a smile on her face. "Ooh, I hope she has soda flavor!"

Curious, Naoko followed the crowd. In her peripheral vision, she could see a seething Toshio marching behind her.

The people parted like the Red Sea as Leiko strolled down the hallway, wheeling behind her a gigantic rolling cooler, filled to the brim with gari-garis. When Leiko spotted Naoko among the sea of students, she smiled brightly.

"Naoko!" she said cheerfully, digging through her open cooler. "Here, have a gari-gari! It's on me."

"Wh-what?" Naoko stared at her. Since when was  _Leiko_ ever this nice? Had the world gone mad? "Are you sick?"

"Nope. In fact, I feel better than ever!" Her gaze flicked over to where Toshio was standing. "Unlike some people, I've actually made an effort to change myself."

"R-right..." Naoko stepped away from the bespectacled girl, uncomfortable. This was just way too weird. "I'm gonna go now..."

"Okay! Bye, Naoko!" Leiko waved to her, that bright smile still on her face. "Vote for me, everyone!"

"Kyaah! Leiko is so nice!"

"She's giving out free gari-garis!"

"I want one, I want one!"

"OI!" Toshio shouted, his voice drowning in a sea of other voices as he was largely ignored. "What am I, chopped liver?! Naoko, come back here and tell me how great I am! I gave you a Pocky!"

Naoko, who had been trying to sneak away unnoticed, froze.

"Naoko, tell everyone how nice I am!" Leiko shouted after her, looking like she was having the time of her life. "I  _did_ give you a gari-gari! And it was the last soda flavored one!"

Alarmed, Naoko slowly backed away... then turned and ran off in a full sprint.

"Aww," Toshio and Leiko moaned before glaring at each other. "Shut up!" they said at the same time. "She's  _mine_!" Again, they said the words in unison. "Stop copying me!"

As she ran, Naoko nearly collided with Oikawa, who was changing his shoes at his locker before classes commenced for the day.

"Eh? Mako-chan?"

"Save me," she said, her eyes dull. "Also, do you want this?" She held up the Pocky and gari-gari she still had.

Shrugging, Oikawa took the gari-gari, opened it up, and began to eat it. "What's up, Mako-chan? You look... tired."

Indeed she did; in the span of minutes, Naoko had somehow managed to develop some unsightly panda eyes. "You have no idea."

* * *

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Ayame sighed as she, Naoko, Katsumi, Midori, and Haruka all watched Toshio and Leiko fight for attention in the courtyard. They were currently observing from the rooftop, all of them pressed against the chain metal fencing to get the best view. "Did you know that Leiko tried to take a  _selfie_ with me this morning? It was really scary. And she was  _smiling_ as well."

"Tell me about it," Katsumi moaned, her eyes sunken. "Toshio actually complimented me instead of himself today. He said my hair looked nice when it is a literal mess." There were several strands of hair that were sticking up all over the place in Katsumi's hairdo. Instead of her usual twin-tails, she was wearing her long pink hair in the messiest bun to ever exist.

"Leiko grovelled for forgiveness for making me cry at my feet when I arrived," Haruka shared, looking equally disturbed, "and so did Toshio. I didn't even cry in the first place...!"

Midori shrugged. "I was late this morning so I didn't get to see them."

They all turned to Naoko, who probably looked the worst off.

"I don't want to talk about it," she grumbled, her panda eyes darker than ever.

"If we're going to start advertising Haruka for presidency, we're going to have to start soon," Ayame announced, "Before Toshio and Leiko sweep everyone off their feet."

"We should write a song!" Midori immediately suggested.

"That would take way too long," Naoko pointed out. "We don't have that much time on our hands."

"We should do what Toshio and Leiko are doing," Katsumi said, "except we should hand out chocolates. But the thing is, we need someone to, like, support us. Someone really popular in the school..."

Slowly, everyone turned their head to Naoko.

"What?" Naoko asked.

Midori grinned. "You're friends with Oikawa, right?"

Naoko shot her a wary look. "Don't tell me..."

* * *

_**A/N: ASDFGHJKL NAOKO HAS FRIENDS NOW WHAT** _

 


	41. Enter Akane-kins

_**A/N: I was at Kmart yesterday, the book section of course, when this lady and her two kids suddenly appear in front of me. The lady is browsing some mystery books. But right next to the mystery books were the "sexy" series (basically cheesy romance/erotica for no-life virgins like me).** _

_**I was minding my own business on my iPad when one of the kids is like, "EWWW, THAT'S DISGUSTING." Unsure, I peer up and see the two little boys poking the romance novels.** _

_**The mom's like, "Those are romance novels, Oliver. They're very exciting when you read them."** _

_**Slowly, I look down again and try not to look like I was about to explode in hysterical laughter.** _

* * *

_Yes. You are all my buddies. Speaking of buddies, I have brought a buddy for you buddies to be buddies with._

—  _Akane Aishi_

* * *

"You want me to what?" Oikawa stared at her. "Mako-chan, are you sure it'd be the best idea to get in the way of those two?"

"Tooru, neither of them actually care about looking after the school and the students," Naoko answered. "Haruka's the only... reasonable candidate. If Toshio or Leiko win, then we might as well reinstitute Emiko. Besides," she grinned wickedly, "it's your chance to actually be useful for once."

It was nearing sunset and the pair were currently standing at the front gates of the school. Their meetings had now become a relatively regular occurrence—Naoko would wait at the gates for Tadashi and Oikawa would come out to greet her and talk to her for a while before ducking back inside to do more volleyball practice.

Miffed, Oikawa replied, "I'm plenty useful, Mako-chan. I think you're forgetting all the things I've done for you in the past."

Naoko hummed. "Maybe I am... I'd remember, though, if you help Haruka out here." No, she didn't forget. She didn't think she could forget considering she was seeing his annoyingly handsome face almost every day.

"It wouldn't hurt to be more subtle, you know. I'll help you out, on one condition."

"What's that?"

Oikawa smirked. "That you'll let me take you out on a date once the election's over."

"Eh? A date...?"

"Just one time. Though I wouldn't complain if we were to have a few more~"

"... Fine."

"Shake on it." Oikawa held out his hand. "Deal?"

She took his outstretched hand. "Deal."

* * *

That morning, Naoko tried not to look too surprised when a third year girl with short, wine red hair approached her with a homemade sign. When Naoko had walked into the school gates that morning, she had seen almost half the female student population holding one of these signs, even Ayame and Katsumi.

"The name's Anzu," the girl introduced herself, smiling with all her teeth. As soon as Naoko took the sign from her, Anzu narrowed her eyes and stuck out her lower lip in some sort of judgmental pout. "Don't get too close to Oikawa, okay?! You're not part of the club, so you don't have the right!"

Naoko blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" Anzu barked, suddenly seeming not very nice. "Oikawa is ours! Mine, actually, but I say ours just to be inclusive. I'm kind that way."

"... Whatever." Carrying the sign—which was advertising Haruka's candidacy—on her shoulder, she started to walk away. Something told her that this girl really wasn't worth her time of day. Yet, despite her obvious jealous streak, Anzu didn't seem  _too_ bad compared to some others—cough, Izumi, cough.

She could hear Anzu huff in dismay—disappointed at having not elicited more of a reaction from Naoko. Like hell Naoko would ever give her what she wanted.

As she walked around the corridors, she passed the sign off to another girl who didn't have one before joining her friends, who were talking in a circle near the courtyard fountain.

"Naoko, just in time," Ayame said. She was holding several large boxes of chocolates. The other girls—except Haruka—were carrying less than Ayame, but still held many chocolate boxes in their arms. "Could you help me carry some of these, please?"

Silently, Naoko nodded and Ayame awkwardly passed the topmost boxes to her, the boxes sliding into Naoko's waiting arms.

"So we're handing these out?" Naoko asked. "What about Haruka?"

"She's going to be standing and looking pretty!" Midori chirped. "Y'know, cause, like, people won't be able to vote for her if they don't know who she is! We don't want any chocolate boxes obstructing her face."

Haruka blushed. "Midori...!"

"The good thing is that neither Toshio or Leiko have any student backing like Haruka here does," Katsumi piped. "Now that we have Oikawa on our side, we can't lose! He's rallied all his fangirls and everything!"

"And I paid the price," Naoko said casually. It wasn't too bad, really. A small, insignificant part of her was actually looking forward to their... date.

"You can tell us about it later," Ayame told her. "But right now... let's hand out these candies!"

"Yeah!" Katsumi and Midori shouted, eyes glimmering with excitement.

* * *

Toshio chuckled to himself as he came to school in a gigantic costume... of himself. He had spent all night making the damn thing, and he was sure the results would be worth the effort he had put in.

Well, he had been until he saw Leiko dressed in a dog costume.

Fuming, he marched up to her.

"I cannot believe you," he snapped at her. "Get your own idea!"

She laughed. "Sorry, what? This  _is_ my own idea. I mean, who doesn't love puppies?" Leiko curled her lip upward in a sneer. "You on the other hand... geez, you can't take a hint, can you?"

He spluttered. "Huh?! What are you trying to say—"

Suddenly, a loud, booming and  _obnoxiously smooth_ voice rang through the area. At the entrance of the building, Oikawa stood smiling and waving to his crowd of fan girls, a megaphone in his hands. Standing a bit behind him were some familiar faces: Midori, Katsumi, Ayame and... Toshio and Leiko squinted. They couldn't quite make out the other person. But that was all irrelevant because standing beside Oikawa was—

"NAOKO?!" Toshio and Leiko cried at the same time. The black-haired girl was also holding a megaphone, though it didn't seem to be turned on and she looked like she'd rather be somewhere else.

"This is a terrible idea," Naoko said tonelessly, giving Oikawa a sideways glance.

"You'll be singing a different tune when my brilliant idea works," he retorted, moving his mouth away from the megaphone for a brief moment. "Good morning everyone!" he sang cheerfully into the megaphone.

"Good morning!" everyone shouted back. The girls looked like they were about to swoon (some already were) and the boys were equally intrigued by Oikawa's sudden appearance. Everybody—gender be damned—wanted to be on Oikawa's good side for one reason or another.

Oikawa lazily put a hand around Naoko's shoulders but his fangirls were too busy being mesmerized by his oncoming speech. "I'm sure you all know about the upcoming election for the next Student President." He sighed sadly, making some of his fans shed a few tears.

Naoko resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.

"But the candidates we have so far," Oikawa continued, "aren't exactly president material. Which is why I'm introducing you all to...!" He stepped aside, allowing Midori and Katsumi to bring a shy lavender-haired girl with large yellow eyes forward.

Knowing that it was her turn, Naoko turned on her own megaphone. A metallic whine filled the area, making everyone cover their ears in pain. Flatly, Naoko announced, "Fujikawa Haruka."

Oikawa sweatdropped at her lack of enthusiasm. "Fujikawa Haruka!" he repeated, way more zeal in his voice. He winked at his adoring fans. "Look at her, everyone, she's the whole package~"

Suddenly the centre of attention, Haruka flushed a deep shade of red and lowered her gaze, her legs trembling. With one shaking arm, she took the megaphone from Naoko, who gave her—or  _tried_ to give her—a reassuring smile. In only served to unnerve the poor dandere even more.

Her apparent shyness only made her even more popular than she already was. People were nodding and smiling and talking excitedly as they regarded her.

"If Oikawa is supporting her, we should too," said one girl to her friend.

Her friend nodded. "Right! Plus, I know Fujikawa. She's really shy and quiet but she would make a great and kind leader!"

Little Haruka cleared her throat. "Is this thing on?" Her voice boomed loudly. "Oh! Oops."

"Kyaah! She's so adorable!" a few girls and boys gushed.

"M-my name is Fujikawa Haruka," the candidate said into the megaphone, her voice as still as whispery and lamb-like as ever. "And, well, you probably already know this but I'm running for Student President. Umm, I can't make any huge promises or hand out gari-garis and Pocky biscuits every day... but what I can promise that, if I win the election, I-I'll do my v-very best because I-I care about all of you! So p-please vote for me?" Clumsily, she bowed, nearly banging her head into the megaphone in the hurried motion. "Th-thank you! Also, my friends and I will be handing out some chocolates soon... if you want one, feel free to take one!"

Oikawa and Naoko exchanged a glance. Though she probably didn't know it, Haruka's humble, simple and honest approach had touched more than a few hearts in the crowd.

"Thank you for taking the time to hear us out," Oikawa said into his megaphone, flashing an extra charming grin. "I'll leave things to Haruka now. She's got my vote, you know. If you really care about the school, I think you'll know just who to vote for~"

Toshio and Leiko stood far away, watching in disbelief as Oikawa left, some of his fangirls trailing behind him. But most of his fan club stayed behind as they had orders to help with Haruka's campaign. Anzu—a girl who thought herself to be popular but really had no friends—was one of them, enthusiastically handing out chocolates to people, a cheerful smile on her normally scowling face.

Suddenly, a girl with silver hair and a headband with cat ears attached glided up to them, smiling serenely. "Want one?" she offered, handing a box of chocolates to them. "They're really very nice."

"No!" Toshio exploded. "No, I do not!"

"Definitely not." Leiko narrowed her eyes. "Why would I take handouts from the enemy?"

"Oh, she's not your enemy," the girl said airily, her eyes faraway. Leiko and Toshio exchanged a bemused glance. Was this girl on drugs or something? She certainly seemed like she was. "You two... you're each others' enemy... as well as yourselves. But you don't have to be. I think you two would get along very well if you tried. If you ever want to talk, just ask for Akane-kins in class 1-3, okay?"

When she was gone, Toshio grumbled, "Why would we ever go to a first year for help? Plus, she's weird. 'Akane-kins'? Pfft."

Leiko didn't reply. Instead, she marched off, leaving Toshio to fume by himself.

They were their own enemy huh?

Now that she looked at it... Akane might have been onto something.

Leiko snorted to herself. Why did she need a ditzy first year to point that out to her?

* * *

When the election finally came around, Haruka won by a landslide. Her victory was announced in morning assembly by the current Student Council members, who welcomed the girl with open arms.

Leiko and Toshio begrudgingly called a truce, since they had both been defeated. Not that the name calling or belittling ceased, as Naoko came to find out on the morning after the election.

But not all loose ends had been tied up yet.

Naoko had just entered the school gates a few days after the election when she was approached by none other than Oikawa Tooru. As usual, because of morning practice, he was wearing his volleyball jersey, shorts, and sneakers.

"Mako-chan~" he greeted, the smile on his face reaching his eyes. "I hope you didn't forget our deal."  _Those girls chased me around for hours the other day because of the stunt we pulled._ Taking their own exploitation as special attention, about twenty percent of his fanbase had followed him around asking for dates. Naturally, he had turned all of them down. Most had just went along with it but one particular girl refused to take 'no' for an answer: Anzu.

"Oh, I feel faint!" Anzu had exclaimed one day before proceeding to 'faint' in Oikawa's arms. "Save meee~"

Naturally, Oikawa had caught her and she instantly gotten better. Irritated at her pretenses, he had told her to be more careful next time. When she persisted in her stunts, Oikawa eventually stopped catching her and allowed her to fall the short distance to the ground.

Yes, it was rude, but desperate times had called for desperate measures. He could hardly set the rest of the day because of how many times Anzu had allowed him to pick up her whole weight as she 'fainted'.

"Of course not," Naoko answered calmly as they walked to her locker. "I wouldn't forget about something like that."

"Are you excited?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful, but, dammit, he had been waiting for this moment.

"Excited?" she echoed, pausing at unlocking the door to her locker as she deliberated the answer. "Depends."

"Eh?" Oikawa pouted. "Why do you keep giving me vague, anticlimactic answers? Geez, you're so cruel, oyster-chan. Just say yes or no."

Naoko gave him an amused glance before successfully unlocking her locker. "I—" She was cut off when a waterfall of sharp tacks poured out of her locker in a mass exodus. "Hn?"

"What the hell?" Oikawa exclaimed, making sure not to move too hastily lest the tacks dig into his ankles. He cursed. "Dammit, this must be Anzu's crap."  _This is my fault. Maybe if I'd_ — "Mako-chan, I—where are you going?"

"To find the person responsible for this. You said Anzu, right?"

Oikawa couldn't help but smirk. He knew that once Naoko found Anzu, the latter would probably be dead or traumatized. The raven-haired girl was more than capable of taking care of herself and, well, Anzu... he could only pray that she didn't get  _too_ banged up, even if she was an annoying hag.

Then he realized something. "Geh!" he whined, "She left me to clean all this up on my own...! How mean!"

Naoko didn't have to look far for the perpetrator.

"Hey," she called to the red-haired girl, who swerved around, eyes narrowed.

"Yes?" Anzu simpered, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Did you  _need_  something?"

"Do you want to fight?"

Pretty much all the color seeped from Anzu's cheeks. "H-huh?!" she spluttered at Naoko's bold question. "I-I—"

"Do you want to fight?" Naoko reiterated calmly, though her eyes were burning with a barely restrained fury. "If you bother me again, we'll fight. Whether you like it or not."

"Are you threatening me?! I—"

"Yes. I am. Also, stop trying to get Oikawa to carry you around. Your heavy weight is taking a toll on his setting ability. Also, that bruise on your chin doesn't blend well with your makeup," Naoko added as an afterthought, just to further fuck with her mind for a bit.

Naoko left for class, though it was still early, leaving Anzu to stare after her, her mouth gaping in disbelief at what had just transpired between them. How dare that girl just walk away like that after so baldly threatening her like that! Anzu swallowed and tugged on the collar of her uniform blouse. The scary thing was, Anzu knew that she wouldn't be afraid to walk the walk either. Her brother was a total martial arts addict and Anzu had seen it when Naoko had defeated Izumi  _and_ exposed the conspirators who had rigged the competition.

Anzu tried not to chew her nails—she just had them done but it was a nervous habit of hers. Naoko was out to steal her man and there wasn't anything Anzu could do about it without likely getting grievously injured—

"You have beautiful eyes," a dream-like voice declared. Anzu jumped when a silver-haired girl suddenly appeared right next to her. The girl was carrying a black bag with silver stars on them and wearing a pair of black cat ears that definitely didn't belong with the school uniform. She wore her silver hair in a thick ponytail; the lovely locks of her hair cascading down her shoulders and back. Her heart-shaped face was framed by some front and side bangs.

"What the hell's your problem, freak?!"

"Oh, I don't have a problem," the girl said with a small smile. "Do you want to be friends?"

"Why would I ever want to be friends with you?!"

"Because you have none of your own," Akane pointed out, plainly but not unkindly. "I don't have any friends either except for one. I think we can all get along. She's going to be introducing me to her other friends. Then we can all be friends together. We can all be buddies together."

"Hrr..." Anzu bit her lip and turned away, her short wine red hair swishing with the motion. "Fine, whatever..."

"My name's Akane, but please call me Akane-kins since we are now friends. I'm from class 1-3." Akane gave her a gentle smile. "What's your name?"

"Anzu," she replied sulkily. "Niyaishima Anzu. Class 3-4."

"Ah, a college prep class! You must be very clever. I am only in an ordinary class."

"Y-yeah, whatever..." Akane... was a bit of an odd duck, but... Anzu scowled. So what if she didn't have any friends?! Akane...  _Whatever! I'll just pretend to be her friend before I find my own._

* * *

Lunchtime came and Naoko, Katsumi, Midori, Ayame and Haruka sat at their usual table in the cafeteria. Naoko had voted for sitting on the roof again, but the other girls thought it would be safer to sit where it was actually allowed now that the hustle and bustle of the election was over. At first, Naoko had opted to sit alone, but her friends had practically dragged her to their table, claiming that Naoko was now 'one of them'.

Not long later, they were joined by Leiko and Toshio, who had gotten over the events of the past week and forgiven Naoko for "siding with the enemy" (the black-haired girl hadn't even realized they had held a grudge against her despite some irritated glances they sent to her in the hallway).

Haruka had blushed and laughed nervously at being referred to as "the enemy" but the tension didn't last long and they were soon all conversing like old friends.

"Oh, I invited a new transfer student to join us for lunch today," Midori piped as she and Ayame shared a chocolate cornet. "She's a first year and she looks sooo cute in her neko ears!"

"Sorry, what? I lost you at neko ears," Leiko said, raising an eyebrow.

Toshio frowned, suddenly the no nonsense class representative. "Cat ears aren't part of the dress code."

"Oh, lighten up," Katsumi said with a grin. "I've seen her too and she seems really fun! In fact, she was helping Haruka."

Toshio pouted. Well, maybe he wasn't  _completely_ over his stinging defeat yet. Then his facial features relaxed before tightening again. "Hang on... cat ears. Leiko—"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," the bespectacled girl said. "Akane-kins—"

"Hello, buddies," a silver-haired approached their table, a small smile on her face. "I am Akane-kins."

"Buddies?" Naoko parroted uncertainly.  _Akane...kins?_

"Yes. You are all my buddies. Speaking of buddies, I have brought a buddy for you buddies to be buddies with."

The entire table sweatdropped at her odd sentences. All except Midori of course, who thought her new friend was extremely cool as she looked like she had just come out of a harem anime.

"Who's your friend, Akane-kins?!" Midori asked excitedly. "Show us, show us!"

 _Another friend..._ Naoko thought. The concept of having this many was unfamiliar and a bit weird to her. She wasn't sure if Toshio and Leiko were her friends but since they all hung out together... Naoko sighed. This friends thing was way too confusing for someone like her—someone who was so new to this notion.

"My buddy is Anzu-kins," Akane said, reaching and pulling a red-haired girl with a scowling face to the table. "Say hello to our new buddies, Anzu-kins."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Anzu reprimanded sharply. "Look, if you're gonna add an honorific, make it senpai!"

"Anzu-kins, these are our new buddies."

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

All the girls on the table laughed, except for Leiko and Naoko.

"Why are you even hanging out with us?" Ayame asked, "I thought you didn't like us. You could just leave, you know."

Anzu turned away and turned her nose up in the air. "Hmph! I don't have to answer that!"

"She has no friends," Leiko stated bluntly.

"Not surprising," Naoko murmured.  _She seems... to have another side to her. She's not the worst person, I guess._

"That is correct," affirmed Akane, nodding seriously. "Which is why I am her buddy. Now she is your buddy as well." She clapped her hands together. "Isn't this all exciting? We are now all buddies." With that, she sat down, Anzu sitting beside Akane reluctantly.

"Welcome to the gang," Ayame said genuinely. "Hey, Anzu, don't cause too much trouble, okay?"

"Pfft, whatever..." Anzu looked away, biting the inside of her cheek.

"Hey, Anzu," Naoko said monotonously, her gaze shadowed by her bangs. "Don't put tacks in my locker again. Or bother me."

Akane nodded as if she were in some kind of stupor. "Mm. Buddies should not put tacks in the locker of another buddy. It is a very unbuddy-like thing to do."

Anzu flinched, her cheeks flushing red as she grew indignant. "I am not her buddy! Anyway, stay away from Oikawa and we'll see,  _Naoko_."

"You want to fight?"

Instantly, Anzu paled again. "Wh-whatever! I still see Oikawa in class anyway so whatever...!"

Naoko gave a small noncommittal grunt, slightly exasperated but accepting the girl's weak response. She doubted she'd see any more trouble coming from Anzu anytime soon.

* * *

_**A/N: MORE FRIENDS FOR NAOKO FFFFFFF** _

_**And ah, yes, Oikawa and Naoko will be going on a date soon as per the deal... then we'll probably get into Tadashi's birthday arc.** _

_**Let's go off on a tangent for a second: I'm waiting for my dad to come back to he can set up my old Wii console again since I want to try and revisit old memories by playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World again.** _

**_This chapter and its characters were influenced by Orange Marmalade._ **

_**Here's some character grades for you since there's more now** _

_**Ayame - 3rd year** _

_**Midori - 3rd year** _

**_Toshio - 3rd year_ **

**_Anzu - 3rd year_ **

**_Shinji - 2nd year_ **

**_Leiko - 2nd year_ **

**_Katsumi - 2nd year_ **

**_Naoko - 2nd year_ **

**_Akane - 1st year_ **

**_Great! Now "friend" group is established :')_ **


	42. Dating? What's that again?

_What kind of look are you trying to go for?! A gay pedophile serial killer?!_

_— Anzu Niyaishima_

* * *

 "A date?!" Midori repeated far too loudly, standing up abruptly and nearly spilling Ayame's milk carton when she slammed her palms on the table.

"Midori, please lower your voice," Naoko asked wearily, not really surprised by the green-haired girl's overdramatic outburst of a reaction. Sheepishly, Midori sat back down, nibbling on the remains of the chocolate cornet she was sharing with Ayame.

Anzu's already sour looking face had grew even more pinched when Naoko had announced conversationally that she would have to go on a date with the Prince of Aobajosai himself as a result of their verbal contract.

"That is nice," Akane said chipperly before Anza could make any scathing remarks. "Have you already contemplated on what you're gonna wear?"

"Wear?" Naoko uttered, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I need to worry about that? You act like I'm going to show up in a potato sack or something."

Anzu guffawed. "Knowing you, probably."

"Hey, take that back!" Toshio snapped. "As if we need two Leikos here..."

"What does Anzu mean?" asked Midori, a little confused. "Why would Naoko wear a potato sack to her date...?"

It was Akane who answered, smiling like a Cheshire Cat as she adjusted her cat ears headband. "Anzu-kins is referring to the absence of universally accepted personality traits in Naoko-kins."

"Basically," Leiko drawled, seeing the confused expressions on some of their friends, "she's weird, clueless, and dense as a rock."

"Oohhh," Midori and Katsumi said at the same time, drawing out the 'o' sound.

"Absence of universally accepted personality traits?" Toshio was muttering to himself. "Who even says that...?"

"Someone with the absence of universally accepted personality traits, that's who," Leiko answered smartly.

"Shut up, smartass."

"Hey, you asked, dumbass."

"It's just a date," Naoko stated calmly.

"Oh my god," Anzu said loudly, "you are a complete noob when it comes to dating. Why did he even ask you?" She narrowed her eyes accusingly. "Did you cast some sort of spell on him?"

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Naoko retorted, crossing her arms.

"Naoko," Ayame started, "is this your first date?"

"... No."

"Eh?!" Everyone gaped at her in disbelief; even Toshio and Leiko stopped heir bickering to openly stare at her in surprise.

"B-but how?!" Anzu cried, her perfectly drawn eyebrows raised up. "How are you this clueless?!" She let out a frustrated noise. "God, people like you really piss me off."

"Alright," Ayame adjusted what she had been about to say to Naoko before. "What did you do on your first date? Can you remember?"

"My first date was spent on a different planet," Akane said dreamily, her eyes faraway.

"Of course it was," Anzu deadpanned, examining her manicure nails. "Next you'll be telling me that the principal's a dinosaur. Besides, who would even want to date a freak like you?" She uttered the last part extremely quietly.

"His name was Ichirou," Naoko told Ayame, her voice cautious. "And the only reason I went on a date with him was because he did something to my brother. I led him to an alleyway and beat him up."

They all stared, except for Akane, who was distractedly humming a tune.

"Geez, learn to handle things not like a cave woman next time," Anzu scoffed.

"It's effective," Naoko said simply.

"I hope you took a photo of his genitals," Akane suddenly piped, garnering disgusted and shocked looks from some of the people on the table. "For insurance."

"I have to agree with the weirdo on this one," Anzu added, smirking, "you have no idea how good blackmail that is."

"Believe me, I do," Naoko said smoothly, a wicked gleam entering her eyes. "And believe me when I tell you that his height of five foot nine during middle school was definitely compensating for something."

Anzu laughed cruelly while Akane let out a small titter.

"You are the funny, Naoko-kins," Akane said between giggles.

The rest, except for the pragmatic Leiko, continued to shamelessly stare at the laughing pair and Naoko as if they had suddenly grown extra heads or declared themselves to be Yakuza.

"What?" Anzu snapped rudely when she finally calmed down enough to notice the blatant stares.

"Hey, don't blame us for being surprised," Ayame said, holding her hands up in a surrendering notion. "I mean... you suddenly seemed like evil triplets."

"Hah! As if!" Anzu turned her nose up in the air again, a gesture that was becoming more irritating than it was amusing. "I have way too much integrity for these... peasants!"

Katsumi sweatdropped. "Right... So, Naoko, what about your other dates?"

"That was the only time I'd ever been on one," Naoko replied as she finished up the rest of her lunch in quick, neat bites.

"I would hardly call that a date," Leiko pointed out wryly.

"For once, I agree with her," Toshio put in. "Luring someone into a dark alleyway and beating them up..." He shook his head. "Yeah, that's not a date."

"Which means this really is your first date," Ayame said with a sort of finality in her tone.

Naoko frowned. "Well, if you put it that way—"

"Called it!" Anzu butted in, a smug look on her face. "You really are a total newbie!"

"You sound very excited at that revelation, Anzu-kins," Akane noted, crunching on a carrot that she had stolen from Anzu's bento when she wasn't looking.

"Whatever—hey, that's my lunch you're eating, freak!"

"Yes, soup is indeed hot on the stove," was Akane's seemingly irrelevant reply. She smiled at Anzu before taking another bite out of the carrot.

"She's retorting by pointing out the obvious," Leiko supplied boredly, catching Midori's bewildered expression.

"Do you have any idea what Oikawa has planned for you?" Ayame questioned Naoko.

"I remember him saying something about a movie and lunch on Saturday," Naoko recalled, remembering how Oikawa had entered her classroom during a ten minute break between classes.

"Ooh, classic," Katsumi spoke up, grinning. "Since it has a more casual feel to it, though, I'd go for casual-formal."

"Casual... formal?" Naoko cocked an eyebrow.

"Uhh, like... how do I describe this," Ayame mumbled. She pulled out her phone and showed Naoko a few examples of casual-formal. "Stuff like this."

Naoko blinked at the images. "... Is this really necessary?"

"Ugh!" Anzu glared at her. "Who do you think you are—"

"She is Naoko-kins," Akane answered.

"—acting all smug like this? Oikawa just asked you out on a date and you aren't even bothering to look good for him! Tsk, you don't even wear makeup. You're naturally beautiful, but that doesn't matter! You'll never look your best if you're lazy!"

"Makeup is expensive," Naoko said icily, jerking away from Anzu's hand. "And unnecessary. I wouldn't spend so much on such frivolous things."

"Then ask your parents!" Anzu shouted, scowling.

"I can't." Naoko's jaw clenched, the twinge of muscle going largely unnoticed. Only Akane's sharp eyes picked up on it.

"And why the hell not?!"

"Anzu-kins, you should probably keep an eye on your bento," Akane interrupted with her usual detached air. "You need to put more sauce on your carrots, by the way. They're very bland."

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH MY LUNCH, YOU FREELOADER!"

Ayame gave an exasperated sigh. "You know what, just forget it, Naachan." She gave Naoko an encouraging smile. "Just wear whatever you want and don't forget to be yourself! No need to worry."

"I wasn't worrying in the first place," Naoko pointed out. "Everybody else was worrying."

"Can you really blame them though?" Toshio asked, sweatdropping. "I can't and I'm not even a girl..."

"You sure about that?" Leiko snarked.

"Shut up!"

"Naachan will be fine," Midori declared confidently, giving Naoko a thumbs up. "I mean, who wouldn't love this cutie patootie?" She looked like she wanted to give Naoko a hug, but the sidelong glance that the other girl gave her was enough to dissuade her.

Anzu coughed. "Um."

"I'm going to refill my water," Naoko announced, getting out of her seat and sideways walking past Ayame and Midori. "Excuse me."

As soon as she left, Leiko voiced her thoughts, "At least three of you are going to follow her, right?"

"Damn straight!" Anzu hissed. "I'm not gonna let that apathetic brute sink her claws into my Oikawa!" Her eyes seemed to turn into literal fireballs as she clenched her fist. "Who's with me?!"

"No one," Ayame said dryly.

"I will come with you, Anzu-kins," Akane said.

"I'm going too," Midori added with a smile. "I'm waaay too curious."

"Like I said." Leiko turned her head to the direction where Naoko had gone. "At least three. I would go... but I have better things to do. Right, Toshio?"

"Huh?" Toshio startled before understanding. "R-right."

"I have work," Ayame said regretfully. "Oh, well, all for the better. I have a feeling Naachan won't appreciate it if she finds out."

"I have work as well," Katsumi whined. "Plus tons of homework!"

Anzu flipped her hair, smirking. "Well, I don't have to work. My family's loaded. In fact, if I were to marry Oikawa, I would be carrying with me lots of great assets to the Oikawa Corporation."

"That's right, his parents are run a really successful business right?" Ayame said, tapping her chin in thought. "Does that mean he's the heir to the company? That's pretty cool..."

"So it's just me, Akane-kins, and Anzu, right?" Midori asked no one in particular. "Ooh, this is going to be so much fun... but we can't be seen. You guys know that right?"

"Duh," Anzu snorted. "I'm not stupid."

"It will become dark at night," Akane answered with a smile.

"Then it's settled!" Midori cheered, putting her hands up in the air.

"Then what's settled?" Naoko asked coolly as she appeared behind Midori, startling the green-haired girl.

Nervously, Midori laughed, a grin splitting her face. "N-nothing...!"

Naoko stared down at her for a bit before shrugging and sitting back down in her spot.

* * *

 "Ugh, where are they?" Anzu muttered to herself as she peeked around the side of the building to observe Oikawa and Naoko standing in the line to the ticket booth. "I swear, if they don't come soon, I'll just do things myself." It was a cold day today and Anzu really wasn't in the mood for any shenanigans. She was wearing a stylish winter coat and had a designer scarf wrapped around her neck. There was a cute beanie on her head and her boots were amazingly fashionable if she did say so herself.

Suddenly, she was approached by a shifty looking person.

She blinked at them. "Please don't tell me—"

Akane removed the paper bag on her head. "I am here, Anzu-kins!"

"Oh my god, I don't know you." Anzu tried to look away but the gap between the cinema building and the grocery store was too narrow and she just ended up looking at Akane anyway.

"Yes you do. I am Akane-kins and I am your buddy."

Anzu face-palmed. Akane had come dressed like a normal person... up until the paper bag on her head. She had cut out some holes for her eyes, mouth, and nose in the bag to allow her to breathe and see. In addition, she had also drawn eyebrows above the eye holes using permanent black marker and whiskers that were not dissimilar to Naruto's whiskers on the 'cheeks' of the bag.

"Ugh..." Anzu moaned in her gloved hand. Well, at least it couldn't get any worse than—

"Yo, guys!" A creepy looking figure squeezed into the alleyway. They were wearing a huge brown trench coat, a fedora, shades, and had a rainbow mustache. Once the shades were removed, Anzu found herself staring into the brilliant green eyes of Midori.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Anzu shrieked. "What kind of look are you trying to go for?! A gay pedophile serial killer?!"

"You look very inconspicuous," Akane praised with an approving nod. Midori grinned at her and struck a pose.

"Oh, of course you would say that!" snapped Anzu, looking like she would love to strangle the both of them. "Am I the only normal one here?! Hrrrr!"

"Are you wishing to tear your hair out?" Akane questioned.

"I'm gonna tear your hair out if you don't shut up!"

"Someone needs a hug," Midori teased, opening her arms as wide as she could in the narrow alleyway. "C'mere!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Anzu squirmed away from her and peered around the side of the building. "They've already gone it, dammit! Hurry up, you guys, you have your tickets right?" They had booked theirs online.

Still smiling, Akane and Midori held up their tickets. "Yep!"

"Then let's hurry up and ditch this joint!" Anzu shuddered. "It'd better be warmer inside..."

* * *

  _ **A/N: This chapter was going to be longer and actually include the date scene, but I won't be able to finish it by tomorrow. And my dad is coming back then. Which means no internet access for a while. I don't when I'll be able to update again.**_


	43. Until She Came Along

_If I know what love is, it is because of you._

—  _Herman Hesse_

* * *

When Naoko had come to him for that favor—asking him to give the shy Fujikawa Haruka some backing—the first thing that came to Oikawa's head was to unashamedly exploit the situation to his own benefit.

He thought he would have been content with staying friends with her, but apparently that was no longer the case.

The words had spilled out of his mouth before he even got to think about the ramifications.

_"Let me take you out on a date once the election's over."_

Which brought him to now.

Oikawa yawned as he stood in line with Naoko by his side, waiting for their turn to collect their tickets at the  _single ticket booth_ the cinema had. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to only have on ticket booth installed, but the owners were pretty old-fashioned as well as influenced by the western cinema. He looked down at his watch—they'd been standing here for nearly fifteen minutes already.

"Tired?" Naoko turned her head to him slightly.

"Of course not," he said lightly. "We  _did_ cut off our jogging time by twenty minutes, you know. I'm perfectly fine, Mako-chan." He pulled her into a side hug. Her body was totally limp as she allowed herself to be embraced by Oikawa. "Are you worried about me?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Naoko said wryly, no real malice in her voice. "And what are you doing?"

He let out a mock exasperated noise. "I thought we went over this already. Mako-chan. This is called... a hug. Do you remember what those are?"  _Gehh... she's so... dense when it comes to showing affection._ He thought he would have minded more, actually, considering he was quite the touchy-feely kind of guy. Oikawa couldn't even count the number of times Iwaizumi had punched or hit him because of his public displays of friendly affection. But, strangely enough, this rather... cold side of her (let's face it, which side of her isn't cold?) wasn't something he disliked.

"I'm not stupid," Naoko answered, shaking her head before leaning into his touch. "I just want to know why you keep... hugging... me."  _Is it really necessary?_ No, it wasn't.  _... But I don't really mind._ At any rate, it was better than her...  _friends..._ dog piling her. Then Midori had proceeded to cry over Naoko's supposedly busted spleen.

"Because I like you," Oikawa said conversationally. Despite the autumn chill, he found himself collecting sweat at the back of his neck. He tugged at his scarf a bit to loosen it. "When you like someone, you hug them. And you're very warm too."

"... Thank you?" She sounded confused and Oikawa had to resist the urge to laugh and ruffle her hair. "... You're warm too. I guess," she added, sounding just a tad awkward.

Someone coughed behind them and they turned. A middle-aged man was giving them a pointed look. "You know," he said, "the line moved up."

"Sorry," Oikawa apologized politely, pulling Naoko closer to his waist as he led them both forward.

"Kids these days," the guy muttered under his breath. "Spend too much time going out and not studying..."

"Old fart," Oikawa mumbled quietly.

"He's not that old," Naoko pointed out, equally quiet. "You'll look like that in a few years."

Oikawa recoiled, horrified at her comment. "Mako-chan! How could you?" Tears comically poured down his cheeks. "Wuuu... Mako-chan, so mean..."

"What? Everybody grows old."

"I'll be dead by the time I look like that," Oikawa declared vehemently, crossing his arms and pouting at her.

"I'll start writing your eulogy then."

"The teacup wishes to shatter along with the teapot for the latter's spout is what gives it its boiling passion," a dream-like voice suddenly announced. The voice—it was distinctly female—was drowned out by a sea of other voices, and, as such, only Oikawa managed to catch her words. He turned his head to see a person—a girl?—with a paper bag over her head walking past the ticket queue.

Oikawa nudged Naoko. "Did you hear that?"

"Hah?" She tilted her head at him. "Hear what?"

"Ah..." He shook his head. "Never mind." As he said this, Oikawa made a mental note to keep an eye out for psychopaths who were clearly on LSD.

"Oh, it's our turn," Naoko said as the line moved up. "Two tickets to..." She rambled off the name of the movie and the guy working at the booth tiredly processed her order, his mustache drooping as his job slowly sucked the life out of him.

_"... gay pedophile serial killer?!"_ a voice screeched before the wind carried it away. Oikawa flinched at the tone, shivers running down his spine.  _That sounded like..._ He started to look around, trying not to look too stricken.  _Anzu...? ... I'm just being paranoid._

They entered the cinema before Oikawa could get even more paranoid about being stalked by Anzu. Smiling, he took Naoko by the hand and started to lead (see: drag) her into the theater room where the movie would be playing.

"Wait."

He stopped. "Yes, Mako-chan?"

Her stomach growled, causing her to look down, a pink tinge on her cheeks. "... I didn't get to eat much for breakfast."

Oikawa didn't answer. Instead, he stared at her; from her small blush to the scarf that hid half of her face. Then he pulled the scarf outward, exposing her hidden mouth. He smiled, standing to his full height and taking her hand again. "Come on. They sell popcorn and drinks here too."

"Mm. Thanks." Her face fell before she cursed, scowling. "I didn't bring any money." Her empty belly complained again and she grimaced. After her morning jog with Oikawa—which had become somewhat of a regular occurrence—she had gone straight home to shower and change, neglecting her wallet and leaving it on the kitchen table where Sumire had been eating an unhealthy breakfast of instant noodles.

"It's okay," he assured her with a smile, "I'll pay."

A conflicted look came over her face. "Wait, you don't have to—"

"Mako-chan." He silenced her. "I dragged you out here, so I'm paying." When it came to money, it was one of the few times and topics that Oikawa ever got to see her vulnerable and... embarrassed. Self-conscious. Things that he didn't really associate with her character.

"... Are you sure?" she mumbled as he brought the food items over to the checkout.

" _Yes,_ " he affirmed, "Geez, Mako-chan, have more faith in me. Only a real bastard makes the girl pay for everything."

"Tsk. Forgive me. I thought your name was synonymous with 'bastard'," she quipped.

"Like you can talk. Oyster. You agreed to go out with a bastard."

"... Yeah. I did." Naoko gave him a small smile. "We should hurry. Otherwise, the movie's going to start without us."

"Aw, does that mean you really do think I'm a bastard?" Oikawa whined as they headed toward the theater room.

"No comment."

"Mean, Mako-chan!"

"OH NO! I'M BLEEDING BANANA BLOOD!" someone screeched in the lobby just as Oikawa and Naoko disappeared into the theater, causing everybody to stop what they were doing and look around.

"Akane! Akane, calm down!" Anzu hissed, shaking the first year girl. A woman had accidentally spilled her banana smoothie all over Akane's paper bag. Cringing, Anzu peeled the wet paper bag off Akane's head with her fingers, too disgusted to make use of her entire hand. "Ew, ew, ew..."

With a silly smile, Midori swiped her pointer finger across the surface of the soppy bag and tasted it, removing her rainbow mustache before doing so. "Yum! Banana blood!"

"Ladies, I am so sorry," the woman apologized. "I tripped over my own feet and, well, the rest is history..." She bowed to them before leaving the scene hurriedly.

"You idiot!" Anzu whisper-shouted at Akane. "You could have gotten us caught!"

"Sorry," Akane apologized, smiling. "Sometimes, I have concerns that the banana will get revenge."

Anzu's eye twitched.

"If you think about it, the banana and the human are quite alike," Akane started to explain, still smiling at Anzu, who looked ready to jump off a cliff. "A banana only starts going brown because the hormone it produces to grow ripe doesn't  _stop_ being produced once they do become ripe, so, in time, they will become overripe. Just like a human. Once we reach our prime, we keep growing and aging. So you see, a human is more like a banana than we first thought."

"Y-y-you..." Anzu held up a finger before her entire hand went limp. "... You know what, just forget it."

"I will not forget it," Akane said seriously, "for the banana and the human are—"

"Kill me now," Anzu said loudly before dragging both of them by the hand, "I don't have time for this! If we're going to stalk them, we're going to do it like proper young ladies—"

A man bumped into her without even apologizing.

"HEY, PAL!" Anzu screamed, shaking her fist at him. The man whipped around, looking a cross between terrified and completely weirded out. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO MY MOTHER IS?! I SWEAR, I'LL—"

Midori clasped a gloved hand over her mouth, sweatdropping underneath her getup, her mustache twitching nervously. "See ya!"

The girls all disappeared around the corner and into the theater to continuing stalking Naoko and her date; all the while, Midori had her hand upon Anzu's maw in a way that seemed like the former was trying to render the latter unconscious with chloroform.

"... Should I report a kidnapping?" the man asked no one in particular, scratching his head.

* * *

"What did you think of the movie?" Oikawa asked casually as he and Naoko walked out of the theater. While they were watching the film, a few weirdos sitting about two rows behind them had been talking in muffled voices. Then, there was popcorn throwing.

Unfortunately, it had been too dark for him or Naoko to see the delinquents, but Oikawa simply wrote them off as some immature kids who were still in the phase of being disgusted by a girl and boy doing kissy stuff.

Not that he and Naoko had actually been anymore intimate than sharing a large popcorn.

Which brought him to another thought: he didn't realize just  _how much Naoko could actually eat in one sitting._ It almost made him want to regret ever inviting her out for lunch when he had promised to cover the expenses of everything.

_She could give Makki and Mattsun a run for their money,_ Oikawa thought as he sweatdropped.

"It was..." She deliberated on the answer. "Okay."

"You don't like kaiju movies?"

She shook her head. "It's not like I don't like them per se. I just don't really watch movies. In fact, this is the first time I've ever been to the theater."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "You're joking."

"No. I'm not. This was my first time."

He smirked. "Then I'm glad I had the honor of taking your movie virginity."

She shot him a withering glance.

"Why are they talking about virginities?!" Anzu hissed in Midori's ear. "What's this about virginities?!" Oh, how she wished she could get closer to them. Had they already slept together? No, that couldn't be right. Naoko didn't seem like that kind of girl, and Anzu was sure that Oikawa wasn't the type of guy that would push a girl for that kind of thing.

"Dunno," Midori replied, crunching on her popcorn. A few kernels got stuck in her fake mustache. "Maybe they already did the deed."

"Indeed, they have done the deed," Akane supplied helpfully.

Anzu's heart nearly stopped. "H-how do you know?" She almost forgot to keep her indoor voice.

"Look at the way they walk," Akane said, pointing at their legs. "That is not the walk of virgins. You, I, and Midori do not walk the same as them."

Well, that was good enough for Anzu, considering Akane had no way of knowing that she was a virgin. Her chastity was not something Anzu marched around screaming about but she was, in fact, a complete and utter virgin.

Anzu grew red in the face at the thought of those two... making love, for lack of a better term. What would a better term be anyway? Consummating? Engaging in coitus?! It made her want to scream. But she couldn't risk Naoko and Oikawa finding them out so she settled for some stifled grunts and small, angry noises.

"You are so angry that you cannot even begin to describe your anger into proper, coherent sentences," Akane observed.

"You look like a depressed, suicidal elephant," Midori added solemnly, nodding in agreement with Akane. "Seal, actually. Make that elephant seal. In a red wig."

"Sh-shut up!" Anzu snapped through gritted teeth, just  _this_ close from exploding with rage. "I-I don't want to hear any comments about m-my appearance f-from a girl who thinks it's  _inconspicious_ to dress l-like  _that_! Even Akane looks more like a normal person now that she's not wearing that stupid paper bag!"

"A paper bag cannot be stupid if it lacks a brain."

"If you don't shut up, you're dead," Anzu threatened Akane.

"Why?" Akane paused. "I have talked and yet I am not dead. Otherwise, I would be seeing the world from my perspective."

"Ooh, twisty," Midori commented, her shades becoming skewed on her face as she tilted her head. "Maybe you're astral projecting."

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Anzu muttered, wishing that there was a wall nearby so she could go slam her skull into it.

"Where are we going now?" Naoko asked Oikawa.  _I'm still hungry... are we going to eat lunch?_ She could really go for a doughnut right now.  _Or two. Maybe three; I should bring some back for Tadashi and Sumire as well. Ooh! A pizza! We haven't eaten pizza in a very long time._

"... Mako-chan, you're spacing out again," Oikawa said as he nudged her arm. "Oyster-chan."

"What is it, you dumb chihuahua?"

"I  _said_ we were going to Maple Gallery. It's just opposite the cinema." Oikawa repeated, his voice taking on a teasing tone. "Are you still hungry? I know you ate a lot during the movie—"

"Let's go," Naoko cut him off, grabbing his wrist and leading him to the orange and red restaurant that read  _Maple Gallery_ on the large sign. "We're going. Now."  _Yes! Pizza! Doughnuts!_

"Quick, they're picking up the pace!" Anzu cried.

_Eating,_ Oikawa made a mental note as Naoko continued to drag him across the street, the pedestrian light just having turned green,  _Mako-chan likes eating._ His thoughts drifted to the time when Naoko had told him that she had accidentally eaten Toshio's cake. Suddenly, he wasn't so disbelieving about the fact that it was purely accidental. What, with the way she had practically vacuumed up the popcorn.

"You know," Oikawa said slowly as they entered the warm diner, "I might start calling you fatass soon." Had it been any other girl, he wouldn't have even had the guts to say it out loud. But this was Naoko. She wasn't bothered by these kinds of things.

"Eh? Why?" She looked down at her body, confused but completely unruffled by his remark.

He chuckled. "No reason. What do you want to order?"

"Chicken chop with brown gravy and fries," Naoko said immediately after giving the front page of the menu one look.

"Erm, you know there are more pages, right?"  _... You literally picked the most expensive thing on the menu._

"You're right," Naoko said, nodding. "I should have put more thought into this."

Oikawa instantly relaxed. Maybe there was hope for his wallet after all now that Naoko was no longer choosing the most expensive thing available—

"I'll take the Grand Slamwich*(1) as well," Naoko finished, closing the menu booklet.

Oikawa nearly fell out of his seat but simply beared the pain with a strained smile.  _Goodbye, monthly allowance. I swear, if I wasn't hopelessly in love with this girl_ — _wait, hopelessly in love? ... No point in denying it now._ Considering that he was planning to pay for her orders anyway. It was too late to turn back—might as well keep digging this pit of devotion and affection. "Wait." He frowned as he squinted at the small, gray lettering beneath the name of the item. "You do realize that this has two kilograms of beef in it, right?"*(2)

"Hm?" Naoko took another look at it. "Yes, I'm aware. Your point?"

"If you get a heart attack, I am not responsible," Oikawa disclaimed.

"Fair enough," she answered with a small smile.

"Hi there, may I take your order?" The waitress sidled up to their table with a smile that was too big and shiny to ever be real. Such was the depressing life of a restaurant worker.

"I'll just have a plate of milk bread," Oikawa ordered, giving her one of his own charming grins and causing her sallow face to light up in a blush. He had already eaten before they left to save some money.

"I'll take the chicken chop with brown gravy and fries, a Grand Slamwich, and an orange soda," Naoko recited all in one breath, looking expectantly at the woman waiting on them, cocking an eyebrow when the woman wasn't scribbling down her orders on her little paper pad.  _Does she need me to repeat it again?_ She  _had_ said it pretty fast. She opened her mouth to reiterate but the waitress spoke first.

"Honey, do you realize that the Grand Slamwich has two kilograms of beef in it?" the waitress asked condescendingly, looking like she was going to be sick just from hearing Naoko's order—one which seemed more suited to an obese man rather than a petite teenage girl.

"That's exactly what I said," Oikawa said teasingly, "Don't mind her," he glanced at her name tag, "Aiko-san, this is... normal."  _It really isn't._

"I am perfectly aware," Naoko said coldly, giving the lady a frosty glare. Was she trying to patronize her literacy or something? The woman flinched before hastily writing down the order. But Naoko wasn't finished. "Would you like me to recite to you the other ingredients as well in case I am 'not aware'? Because I know perfectly well that this burger contains two kilograms of beef, crispy bacon, caramelized pineapple, melted cheese, fried onion rings, sweet beetroot, ripened tomatoes and a fried egg. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," squeaked the woman. "A-and did you say a chicken chop as well?"

"With brown gravy and fries, yes."  _Shame that they don't serve pizza or doughnuts..._ "Also, I want extra gravy on my plate. Don't be stingy."

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

The waitress hurried off, nearly tripping over her feet and falling flat onto the floor as she did so.

"Wow." Oikawa stared at his date. "It was like watching a shark corner a small fish." He laughed at her serious, mirthless expression. And over a  _goddamn burger_ of all things as well. "So it's okay when I do it but not her? I'm touched."

"There's a difference," Naoko explained, "between the way you said it and she said it." Her gaze darkened and a shadowy aura seemed to surround her lithe body. "She'd better not forget my orange soda."

Oikawa flinched at the black look in her eyes. "I'm... sure she won't," he offered lamely, more terrified than he dared to admit.

Literally in the booth next to theirs, Anzu, Midori, and Akane were all sitting at one table with menus to cover their faces; Midori had hers upside-down.

"What are they saying?" Anzu, the one sitting furthest away from them, demanded quietly.

"Not much," Midori replied with a shrug. "Just ordering food and all that jazz. Also, did you know Naachan is a shark? Like Kisame from Naruto."

"I didn't come here for your otaku crap," Anzu snapped, her eye twitching again as her patience ran incredibly, incredibly thin. "And when's my salad going to come? I'm starving..."

"You should have shared the popcorn with us," Akane told her. "We did offer you some."

"Hah!" Anzu snobbishly turned her nose up in the air, "Like I was going to accept some... commoner food...!"

Akane and Midori shared an amused look, though one couldn't really tell from the oversized shades and faux mustache Midori was currently wearing.

Oikawa's milk bread arrived first—he happily dug in and offered some to Naoko, who gladly accepted as he belly continued to grumble—then came Naoko's rather... large orders.

"H-here," the waitress mumbled as she set down the plate that had the chicken chop first before the plate that held the monster of a burger that was the Grand Slamwich. "E-enjoy..."

While the chicken chop looked reasonably delicious and not too heavy, the Grand Slamwich was a totally different story. Even Oikawa couldn't look at it for too long before his stomach started to lurch. Mainly because the melted cheese thick and slimy as hell as it oozed out of the sides of the burger, dripping down the beef patties— _two_  patties which were both thicker than Oikawa's fingers—and pooling at the bottom bun, causing it to become wet, soppy and release some sort of gas. The rest of the contents could hardly be contained in the buns and were practically spilling out. It was as if someone had stuffed a ten pound tuna in a five pound can—in which the bread buns were the can and the food items stuffed between them was the tuna.

The milk bread in his mouth grew gluggy and pasty as he continued to examine the burger with far too much detail.

Naoko's eyes were practically stars as she stared at her burger, and Oikawa could have sworn a small amount of drool began to gather at the corner of her mouth. Unable to wait a second longer without digging into the delectable burger, Naoko rolled up her sleeves, picked the entire thing up with her hands, and took a large bite out of it.

Normally, the fried onions and sliced beetroot would have fallen out the back and sides of the burger but Naoko somehow managed to keep it from falling. She chewed what she had bitten off happily, her cheeks filled up, making her look like a human chipmunk.

Oikawa could hardly believe his eyes when Naoko devoured the entire thing under ten minutes.

"Mako-chan," he started before faltering, not knowing  _what_ to say in this situation. Normally, girls just ordered a bland salad and a water whenever he took them out to eat. "... You know what, never mind."

In the next booth, Anzu was looking on in disgust.  _Poor Oikawa!_ she thought,  _Having to put up with that nasty cave girl and her nasty eating habits!_ Primly, she poked at her salad with a fork before sitting up straighter, feeling like she had just one-upped Naoko.  _Some people simply have no class._

"That was heavenly," Naoko practically moaned as she picked up the last crumb of bread on her plate, content.  _So... so... good!_ She turned her eyes on the untouched chicken chop. The brown sauce poured all over the fried chicken and chips was shiny and slick.  _Perfect._

Oikawa's grip on his bread tightened when she made that god forsaken noise. "Mako-chan," he said, his voice sounding strained. "Please don't do that again."

"Do what?"

He tried to play off his embarrassment. "Moan like a deranged hyena zombie."

"So now it's deranged hyena  _zombie_?" she asked wryly. "I can see why the girls at school are crazy about you, dumb chihuahua. You sure have a way with words."

"Oh? And aren't you  _crazy_ about me too?" he queried teasingly.

After chugging down some of her orange soda, Naoko started to cut at her chicken chop with a fork and knife. "Crazy? No, not crazy." Oikawa waited to finish her sentence, but she never did, so he merely shrugged and continued to pick apart his milk bread and pop some pieces into his mouth.

Oikawa could hardly bring himself to be surprised anymore when Naoko finished the entire plate of food and sauce in even less time than she had the burger. "Hey, Mako-chan, you've got something there." He pointed at the corner of her mouth, which was smothered with the gravy that had been on her chicken chop.

"Eh? Here?" She touched at her lips, unable to find the unclean spot.

"No." Oikawa stood up, barely able to suppress a smirk as he swiped his finger across the spot, her lips soft underneath his fingers. Once all the sauce was collected on his finger, he licked the sauce off the digit. "There. You have good taste, Mako-chan. I can see why you asked for extra gravy."

Midori and Akane were unashamedly straining their ears to hear their conversation. Anzu, who had seen what Oikawa had done seeing as she was the only who was facing their general direction, was absolutely seething, clutching the table with all her might and nearly cracking it under her grip too.

"I've always loved food," Naoko told him, standing up and getting out of their booth. "I'll be back. Bathroom."

As soon as Naoko was gone, Anzu made a series of hand signs that reminded Midori of Naruto's  _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._

"You want us to what? Reveal ourselves?" Midori voiced, confused.  _Is she trying to make me do a shadow clone or something? I wish I could!_

Anzu's eyes widened for a moment before shaking her head, but it was too late to stop Midori. The green-haired girl—still in her ridiculous disguise—stood on her knees on the booth chair and peered over until her head was suspended just above Oikawa's, who was still blissfully unaware that he was about to be assaulted by a 'gay pedophile serial killer', as Anzu had so eloquently put it.

"Yo, dude!" Midori practically shouted in his ear.

"Gwaah!" Oikawa jumped in his seat, knocking the crown of his head against the soft underside of Midori's chin. Standing up while rubbing his head, he whipped around to see a pained Midori, a jealous Anzu and a serene Akane, who looked like she was oblivious to everything that was going on. "Mi-chan?! Is that you?! What the hell?! What are you wearing?!"

Anzu groaned into her palms and resisted the urge to faceplant into her half-eaten salad. She  _was_ going to go with a bathroom sabotage with Naoko but now that was not to be.

"Clever, right?" Midori crowed, removing her dark shades and twirling her mustache with one finger.

Oikawa stared at them in disbelief.  _How. Just how._ How could he have not noticed someone as noticeable as  _Midori_ following him and Naoko around?

"See?" Midori stuck her tongue out at a seething Anzu. "Told you my disguise would work. He didn't even notice!" She twirled her rainbow mustache. "Never diss the 'stache!"

"Wise words," Akane supported, giving Midori a smile. "You never know what wonders a faux mustache might do you."

"Okay, enough!" Oikawa said sharply, giving them all a glare. "You've been following me around, haven't you?"

"Gee, I wonder what gave  _that_ away," Anzu said sarcastically. "Oikawa-kun, we were just worried!"

_Worried?_ Oikawa resisted the urge to laugh at her annoying face. While he was semi-okay with Midori and the other girl—whose name he didn't know as of yet—having  _Anzu_ of all people stalk him on a date with  _Naoko_ was just a huge no-no. "Anzu-chan, please leave. You're intruding on some private." He shot Midori and Akane a look as well; the former had the grace to look at least somewhat guilty.

"I'm not leaving," Anzu answered with a self-righteous sniff. "We're dining here, you see, so, uh, yeah!"

"So you can keep an eye on Mako-chan and I?" Oikawa asked brusquely.

"Umm, well..."

"If you won't leave, then I will," Oikawa said, knowing that no one could make Anzu do what she didn't want to do.  _Bitch._

"This table is made out of American wood," Akane suddenly said.

"Huh? What's going on?" Naoko was back. "Anzu? Akane? And..." She narrowed her eyes at the last person. "... Midori?"

"Ugh,  _look who's here_ ," Anzu sneered at Naoko. "It's the brute."

"No, it's Naoko-kins," Akane corrected, looking mildly confused.

"UGH, SHUT UP! AND DON'T THINK I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT YOU'VE BEEN STEALING FROM MY PLATE AGAIN! YOU HAVE MAYONNAISE ON YOUR CHEEK!"

"Better a brute than a harpy bitch," Naoko responded easily. "At least my voice doesn't burst eardrums."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Oikawa added snidely. "Mako-chan, you're finished, right?"

"Yeah. Are we going?"

"I was hoping you would ask that." With that, he took her hand and led her out of Maple Gallery, leaving Akane, Midori, and Anzu to their own devices.

Once they were outside and reasonably far away from the restaurant, Oikawa puffed a sigh. "That was suffocating."

"Were they following us?" Naoko deduced.  _It seems like something that Anzu would do._

"What do you think?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

They walked down the streets, side by side. On the road, cars whizzed past them before coming to a halt at various traffic lights. The cars blew out smoke from their exhaust pipes, polluting the air one puff at a time as those small clouds of cancer causing smoke were carried away by the autumn's annual zephyrs.

"I'm sorry that this didn't exactly go as planned," he said, giving her a sidelong glance. "I had no idea that they were even there."

"I know," she said simply. "It wasn't your fault."  _I shouldn't have told them about it in the first place. Especially Anzu._ "Tooru."

"Hm?"

"This... outing..." Naoko turned to him so that they were facing each other. "It was enjoyable."

" _Just_ enjoyable?" he pressed, fishing for a better answer.

Naoko shrugged. "I've never really done this before, so yes. It was enjoyable."

_Oh well,_ he thought. The answer was acceptable enough considering how things hadn't exactly gone to plan. It was too bad that she probably wouldn't ever want to go out with him ever again after this fiasco of a date—

"I'm glad you think so," Oikawa said sincerely, stepping forward to pull her into another hug. It had become almost natural now, despite Naoko's aversion to physical affection.  _I wonder if she would mind if...?_ He pressed his lips to her forehead in a quick, light kiss. It wasn't as if he  _hadn't_ done it before, so it was okay, right? Then again, the last time he had done this kind of thing was when she was drugged and lying in a hospital bed after undergoing surgery.  _... Too late now._ He waited for her to say something. Anything. Or maybe she would hit him? She wasn't above hitting people, after all. She was like Iwaizumi in that regard—willing to resort to physical violence to get her point across.

But she didn't. No hit, slap or kick ever came from her. She just stood there, looking smol and cute in Oikawa's opinion.

Naoko stared up at him. Vaguely, she recalled that he had done this before while she had been somewhat incapacitated. She couldn't remember the last time she had been kissed. Whether it be on the lips, the cheeks, or anywhere else. Her parents—before they had died—had never been overly affectionate with any of their children.

He pulled away from her, looking semi-rueful. What kind of reaction was he expecting from her? She didn't know. So she cleared her throat.

"I'll be going home now. Sumire's probably wondering where I am. Tooru... thank you for today. It might not seem like it but... I actually had fun." Heck, this had been way better than luring some guy into the alley and proceeding to beat the snot out of him. This kind of fun beat  _that_ kind of fun any day. Naoko couldn't suppress the smile that tugged on her lips. Despite the layers she was wearing, it was undeniably cold out. So, her heart beating faster than she would have liked, she drew closer to him before wrapping her arms around his chest and torso (as high as she could reach, basically).

An embrace.

Like the kiss, she couldn't remember  _when_ she had last  _initiated_ an actual full-on hug with someone. Oikawa must have been surprised as well, for he stood stock still for a few moments before returning the hug.

"I'll see you on around, Mako-chan," he murmured into her ear.

"You too, Tooru."

Then she pulled away this time, the warmth that she had received from the embrace sucked away with the wind. She waved to him one last time before walking down to the nearest bus stop.

Oikawa stared after her back for a few moments before turning around and walking away in the opposite direction.

"Ugh!" Anzu huffed as she, Midori and Akane all removed themselves from their hiding place behind a thick lamp post. "Are you serious? Why do I feel that we accomplished  _nothing_ today?"

"Oh, but we did," Akane said airily, "We got to see how things went for her. And I must say, I enjoyed doing this. Wouldn't you agree, Midori-kins?"

"Definitely," said the green-haired girl. "I mean, Oikawa kinda got annoyed with us—so did Naoko, probably—but that's understandable. Are you still after Oikawa, Anzu?"

"W-well, I..." She wanted to say yes, but she wasn't entirely sure now. After seeing their interactions... "I dunno! Whatever! Don't ask me that, okay?" She huffed again and turned away, sulking.  _They really care for each other..._ Some unfamiliar feeling pricked at her conscience.  _What is this feeling... so sudden? And new?_

"I think they are what we call the soulmates," Akane supplied, looking like she was stuck in another world as usual. "Two lonely souls... discovering each other... and, well, the rest is history."

"I would hardly call Oikawa lonely," Anzu argued.  _He's surrounded by girls all the time. I should know, I'm one of them._

"Oh, but he is," Akane retorted with a mysterious smile, turning her head to the bus stop opposite the street to the left, where Naoko was waiting. "More than you will ever know. Until she came along."

* * *

 

_**A/N:** _ _***(1) Grand Slamwich is from Charlie teh unicron. Just... just look it up *sighs* (have you ever gotten to that point in your life while you're watching YouTube videos and you're like, "What am I doing?"** _

_***(2) I love Yoo reference. Shin-Ae orders a burger with 2 kg of beef in it called the Heart Attack.** _


	44. The Prince's Waltz

_**A/N:** _ _**Merry Christmas everyone! Or Boxing Day, depending on where you are. Where I am, it is Boxing Day (:** _

* * *

_The truth is, I've been lucky. But just like the waltz, life has its own rhythm of rise and fall._

—  _Len Goodman_

* * *

The first thing Midori did that morning when Naoko entered the drama club room was hastily bow to her and warble, "I'm sorryy! Forgive me, Naachan!" Tears were pouring out of her eyes in fountains and Naoko shifted uncomfortably when Midori went on her knees and touched her forehead to Naoko's shoes.

"Midori," Naoko started awkwardly, "it's... it's okay. I forgive you."

Instantly, the green-haired girl sprang up. "Oh, good!" She gave Naoko a tight hug. "Thank you so much! I know it was wrong of me but I was just so curious."

"I... see."  _Another hug? Why is hugging becoming such a common occurrence?_ Well, it wasn't like she minded so much anymore. Midori's hugs felt good, even though she practically crushed Naoko's breasts against her own.  _But Tooru's hugs feel even better_ —

Naoko stiffened in Midori's arms. Where had  _that_ thought come from?  _... It's not like I'm wrong or anything._ He gave great hugs. That was it. End of story.

Finally, Midori let go, allowing Naoko's sore breasts to be liberated from their pain.

"Is Akane coming?" Katsumi suddenly asked as she flipped through her script. "She hasn't joined a club yet, right?"

"Nope." Midori shook her head sadly. "She said she doesn't wanna join a club... which is weird. Apparently, none of the clubs suit her."

"Of course they don't," Leiko piped up, her glasses positioned in a way that gave her a rather mysterious air. When everybody gave her a bemused glance, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't tell me  _none_ of you have figured out who she is yet?"

"Who?" Ayame ventured, cocking her head to one side. To them, Akane was just the token oddball in their little friendship group.

Toshio let loose a rather arrogant laugh. "I can't believe it! You really are all clueless." He gave a patronizing sigh. "Suppose I can't blame you. She's covered up her identity pretty well by pretending she's a weirdo."

"It's a pretty convincing act," Leiko added before frowning, "Or maybe she really  _is_ like that..."

"Oh, come on!" Toshio turned on her. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that a star like her is—"

"What  _are_ you talking about?" Katsumi wondered. "Akane is just Akane, right?"

"Wrong!" Toshio and Leiko chorused gleefully, looking like they were having the time of their life.

"What I want to know," Naoko said, staring at them, "is when you two got so close."

There was a period of silence.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Leiko answered nonchalantly.

"She's my girlfriend," Toshio sighed at the same time.

At that moment, Tachibana, the supervising drama teacher, chose to walk in, the clicking of her shoes becoming muffled as she walked into the room because of the carpet. She was holding a binder in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Seeing their shocked looks, she became confused. "Guys? What's going on?"

"I can't believe it!" shrieked Midori.

"No way!" cried Katsumi, eyes wide.

"Con-congrats," Ayame offered, reeling.

There was some kind of noise and Shinji looked up, his character having died on his phone. "How long?" he asked, everyone—even Tachibana—turning to him. When the normally silent Shinji talked, it was time to pay attention.

"About a week after the election," Leiko supplied, knowing that they'd be caught red handed. "You know,  _darling,_ we did say that we were going to tell them in a different way."

Toshio scoffed. "Not my fault that Naoko is the next Sherlock Holmes."

"A blind baby could have figured it out," Naoko deadpanned. "You're even sitting together." She had been forced to move down one seat because of the sudden change in configuration.

"She's got a point," Tachibana said as she sat down at the head of the table. "Anyway, how are things going along for everyone? Practicing hard at home for the pantomime?"

"Yep!" Ayame said, smiling. "I think just about everyone's got it down now. In fact, we could perform on stage right now if we wanted to."

Naoko wisely didn't make any comment, albeit Tachibana shot her a rather worried glance as Ayame spoke. The drama teacher offered some information about how the music club was going as well. They had finished producing the music and the choir had the chorus down to pat. The girl playing Fairy Godmother and Fujikawa Haruka—who was playing the Evil Stepmother—were also ready. It was rather surprising for everyone that Haruka was able to channel her character's wickedness.

"Are you sure you're Haruka and not a pea pod person?" Midori had asked Haruka with narrowed eyes one lunchtime.

"H-huh?" Haruka had stammered, puzzled. "W-what do you mean?" Then the peas on her fork had fallen back down into her bento.

"Hah! That's exactly what I expected an alien to say," Midori had crowed triumphantly. Naoko had been glad that she hadn't been loud enough to attract the likes of Oikawa to their table, knowing that the setter was a hardcore geek when it came to aliens, space, and cryptozoology.

Poor Haruka had fled to the bathroom and didn't return until the end of lunch. Midori had gotten quite the scolding from Toshio and Ayame afterward.

"I'm sure you could," Tachibana was now assuring her 'drama club cuties'. "There's just one thing..." She glanced up at the clock, seeing that it was nearly time for classes to start. She had come in rather late today, having not scheduled any early morning rehearsals. "Naoko, could I speak to you? Everyone else, please make your way to class."

They complied, and Naoko was left alone in the club room with her teacher, the others having marched out with their bags on their backs. She walked up to where Tachibana was expecting, already knowing what was coming.

"Naoko," Tachibana began, "I'm guessing you already know what I'm about to tell you?" She didn't reply so Tachibana continued to speak, "Naoko you are Cinderalla—the lead role. You really  _must_ convey the right kinds of emotion in order to really make her come to life." She sighed and sat back in her swivel chair—the only one in the club room. Leiko and Toshio had fought over it when Naoko first came before Tachibana had finally had enough and claimed the chair for herself. "I chose you for this role because the none of the others are suitable for it."

"So I was a last resort," Naoko said, though she was completely unoffended.

Tachibana blushed. "Y-yes, I'm sorry... but I'd rather have all the other parts be played to their fullest. So I had to sacrifice this role for that. Naoko... tell me, why is it so difficult for you to replicate the happiness and love that Cinderella has? Haven't you ever felt those kinds of emotions before?"

"Happiness, yes." Naoko replied indifferently. "But, assuming that you mean romantic love, no. I don't... I don't think so."  _I'm not sure. Have I ever... loved? Like that?_ She knew that Tadashi had definitely felt that kind of thing before. He was the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. Sumire was more distrustful of the world but she had let Kageyama in. Naoko had no doubt that her younger sister felt the type of love that Tachibana was asking her to replicate. But her? Naoko frowned. Had she ever felt that before?  _How_ did it feel to love romantically?

"You're such a pretty girl," Tachibana cooed, "I really thought you'd have a boyfriend or something... you really surprise me, Naoko." She sighed. "Oh, well. It can't be helped, I suppose. Just try your best and and practice  _a lot,_ okay?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Alright, you're dismissed. If you have your script here with you today, please try to squeeze in some practice at lunchtime as well. The Culture Festival is going to be soon and that's our deadline."

"I will, sensei," Naoko promised, the weight in her bag suddenly feeling a lot more heavier than it had been when she had come to school.

Tachibana gave her a friendly smile. "Okay, now off to class you go. Wouldn't want you to be late."

Naoko gave her a single nod before exiting the club room.

* * *

"Remind me why she's sitting here again?" Iwaizumi muttered into Oikawa's ear as he discreetly scowled at a smug Anzu.

"Anzu," Oikawa said, giving the girl a look. "You've apologized already."  _So please get the hell away from us._

"I don't think I've made it up to you though," Anzu whined as she sat on the edge of their table, her skirt hiked up past her thighs as per usual. To the boys' credit, none of them even looked at her that way, especially not Tadashi, who looked more confused about her presence that anything else.

"Lady, move your ass, you're blocking the view," Makki suddenly complained, having no qualms about upsetting Anzu. He looked like he was  _this_ close to shoving her off the table himself.

Oikawa couldn't help but snicker as Anzu's face became pinched with anger.

"And just  _what_ is there to look at behind me?" Anzu scoffed, turning her head to look at a bunch of geeky looking girls that were part of the computer club. A sneer made its way up her face as she regarded them. "Tsk."

"We were  _trying_ to admire those lovely ladies over there," Mattsun said, giving her a serious look. "Can't do that if there's a hippopotamus in the way."

"Anzu," Oikawa deadpanned. "Unless you want to deal with these two, please leave, okay? You've  _made it up to me_ already."

" _Please_ ," Iwaizumi emphasized.

"Hippopotamus!" Anzu cried, her face turning as red as her hair. "I-I—"

"You-you what?" Makki mocked.

She gave an angry squeal before starting to storm off to her own table. But then she noticed a certain someone was also sitting there. "Oh, great. I would totally leave, but here comes the Ice Queen."

"Ice Queen?" Oikawa echoed. He smirked. "You mean  _my_  cute Mako-chan? Thanks for telling me."

"You wouldn't want to get involved with a girl like her," snapped Anzu, an angry vein appearing on the side of her head as Oikawa looked as if he were about to get out of his seat and approach her. "I wonder what you'd think if you found out that she's struggling with her Cinderella role in the pantomime because she can't show enough emotion! She's a robot!" With that, she sashayed away—straight to where Naoko was sitting because Anzu simply had nowhere else to go.

"Well," Iwaizumi said, "she's a bitch."

"No kidding," Oikawa grumbled. "Honestly, the amount of shit that comes out of her mouth—"

"Would make her ass jealous," Makki and Mattsun finished in unison, grinning.

"Exactly," Oikawa affirmed.  _Mako-chan is playing Cinderella? Huh._ He hadn't known that... He glanced over at their table, where Naoko was flipping through her script. Her friends were all trying to help her, though Anzu seemed more like she was belittling the girl rather than helping. The girl with the cat ears—Oikawa  _still_ didn't know her name; was she a first year?—wasn't doing much either. She was merely tapping her foot on the floor and doing the same with her fingers and the table. According to Anzu, Naoko was struggling with... conveying emotion as well.

"Where are you going?" Iwaizumi asked as Oikawa got up.

"To help," Oikawa said simply, giving his best friend a smile.  _And I think I know how._

* * *

"A prince?" Naoko parroted as she and Oikawa stood apart from each other on the roof. She had her script in her hand, with the highlighted lines being her own. "Katsumi is playing the prince in the pantomime—"

"Forget her," Oikawa said dismissively. "From what I heard from Anzu, you're having trouble portraying the correct emotion, right?"

"Mm. Figures that Anzu would blab. So what's this about a prince?"

"It's simple," Oikawa explained, "All we're going to do... is dance." He was going off on more of a hopeful theory than anything else. There was only faith that it would work. He would be her prince for today.

"... What?" She stared at him, looking like he had just proclaimed himself to be gay and have a fetish for shoes. "While there is some dance numbers with Cinderella and the Prince, I—" The script fell out of her hand as Oikawa looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "What are you doing?"

"Do you know how to dance, Mako-chan?" he purred in her ear. "Or should I say... Cinderella-chan?" He hummed in thought. "Cinder-chan?"  _Yeah, let's go with that._

"I-I..." Naoko glared at him through her bangs. "No. No, I don't know how to dance." In fact, she had never danced in her life. "Tooru, it's freezing out here—"

"I'll warm you up then," he said sincerely. "Just follow my lead."

It was then that the first snow began to fall. Naoko scowled up at the sky. How painfully cliche was this?  _Great. Now it's going to be even colder than it was before._ Snow in October? She had to resist the urge to groan.  _Why_ did snow have to come so early this year?

Sighing, Naoko gave in. "Fine."  _Might as well..._ She was out of options at this point and she didn't particularly feel like disappointing Tachibana-sensei with her dismal performing on the day of the pantomime.

"Relax," he told her as they started to move, "Don't be so tense."

Somehow, she felt the muscles in her shoulders loosening as Oikawa took her for a ride around the rooftop. She'd have to be lying to say that it wasn't awkward at first; for a martial artist, she really had a lack of coordination when it came to dance. While they had rehearsed lines and some musical numbers, Naoko had never brushed up on her dancing.

Fluffy flakes of snow landed in their hair and Naoko's scarf as they continued to... dance, if one could even call it that. It was awkward and slow, but Naoko was slowly getting the hang of it. Oikawa's arm was warm around her lower back and they were close enough to feel the body heat that each of them emitted, which was something that was well received for both on this cold October day.

"You're terrible," he remarked as he spun her around, catching her as she nearly fell. There was no real malice or spite behind his comment—it was more playful and teasing than anything else.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said dryly as she purposely stamped on his foot. "Is that better?"

"Shit! That hurt, you know. This was supposed to romantic, not violent," Oikawa scolded with a small pout.

"Keep trying then," she coaxed. A warm feeling bloomed in her chest and her blood rushed to her face as their bodies became even closer in one particular maneuver. It was... nice. Then they pulled further apart and the heat was momentarily lost, to her disappointment. But it was quickly restored as they closed the distance between their bodies.

"Are you in love with me yet, Cinder-chan?" Oikawa asked lightly.  _Remember... she's Cinderella and you're Prince Charming._ For now, this was totally off the record—they were two characters in a fictional tale,  _not_ Tooru and Naoko.

Thankfully, she caught on. He would not be embarrassed into wanting to erase his own existence yet. "Perhaps, my prince," she ad-libbed, her voice becoming a husky purr that send those goddamn shivers down his spine. Just then, the bell rang, signifying the end of the lunch. "Ah." She fell out of character, though she made no move of removing herself from his vicinity.

"Well?" Oikawa said as they left the rooftop in favor of the building. "Do you understand now? What it feels like to love?"

"I think so," Naoko answered, smiling at him. It wasn't a gigantic beam of sunshine or anything, but he'd take it. "It was unorthodox but I think it worked." She tucked her script—she had picked it up from the floor after their impromptu dance in the snow—under her arm before they stopped to part ways.

"I'm glad," he told her, returning her smile with one of his own. "Ah, crap, I'm going to be late! See you around, Mako-chan."

"See you."

* * *

Now that it was snowing, a considerable amount of the fluffy stuff had gathered around the lamp posts surrounding the edge of the Aobajosai school courtyard. It was just after school and the assigned classes from each grade were cleaning up the school.

The students were working hard in the clean up session, but there would always be a few that skived off in favor of doing more interesting things.

Akane, now wearing a scarf she had brought to school in her bag, was twirling around on her toes, using the lamp post as some superficial support as she hummed a tune.

"What are you doing?" Anzu demanded as she approached the prancing girl. She was holding a bag of rubbish that was already nearly full. "Look, twinkle toes, our classes are on clean up duty if you haven't already noticed. The sooner you help us out, the sooner we can be done with this crap."

If Akane heard her, she completely ignored her. Anzu, already ticked of from Mattsun and Makki's comments, huffed in annoyance and watched Akane dance and twirl around the snowy lamp posts. What was  _she_ so happy about? How dare she be happy when she, Anzu, had been disrespected by a couple of boys that were no better than monkeys!

She said as much and Akane stopped dancing for long enough to actually talk to the girl with the dark cloud hanging over her head, lightning and all. "Why am I so happy?" Akane grinned. "Anzu-kins, it's nearly Christmas soon! Aren't you excited?" She caught a few snowflakes in her hand, her eyes going even wider as she examined them for a few seconds before the delicate ice melted.

"I told you, if you're going to add an honorific make it—" Anzu cut herself off, knowing that getting through to Akane was probably a lost cause. This girl compared human beings to  _bananas_ for goodness sake! "Ugh, whatever! Anyway, Christmas is, like, two months away." In Japan, Christmas was a more romantic holiday than anything else. But what was the point of celebrating the holiday if Oikawa wouldn't even look at her kindly anymore?

"Only two months," Akane sighed dreamily. She outstretched her hand to Anzu. "Hey, Anzu-kins, come dance with me."

"Wh-what? Why?"

"It'll be fun," Akane promised. "Besides you don't  _actually_ want to do clean up, do you?"

Well, no, of course not. Who in their right mind would actually  _enjoy_ being on clean up duty? Grimacing, Anzu tied her rubbish bag and left it on the ground to join Akane in her dance.

"You're good," Akane complimented as she twirled twice—no, three times—like a professional.

"I've been trained in ballet since I was a kid," Anzu said primly, pursing her lips. "First position, second position—my okaa-san drilled ballet into me. Every time she called out those positions, I'd snap to attention. I stopped taking lessons when I was twelve though."

"How come?"

"I only danced because my okaa-san made me. She said I was allowed to quit when I got into middle school so I did. What about you? You're... decent."

"Ah, yes, I—Akane-kins—love dancing! I have been dancing ever since I was a toddler. Before I entered high school, I had the prestigious honor of dancing at the Teatro alla Scala!"

Anzu nearly tripped over herself. "You're kidding. You... You're practically famous if you danced there!"

"Famous? No, I am not famous," Akane firmly denied. "Leiko and Toshio have already discovered the feats that I have performed purely by accident. You, on the other hand, I have chosen to share this with you, Anzu-kins."

"Uh. Why?"

"Why? Why not?" Akane smiled at her. "You are my best friend, Anzu-kins."

"H-huh?! Umm... thanks... I think." Anzu looked away uncomfortably.  _I'm her best friend? That's... I don't know what to think._

Akane gave her another smile before she stopped dancing. "I think it is time to return to our duties. I will be catching you the later, Anzu-kins!"

"You mean  _catch you later_ ," Anzu corrected as the girl frolicked away. "Geez..."

* * *

Two weeks later, at the Culture Festival, the pantomime was a success.

* * *

_**A/N: This arc has probably come to a close now. Then we'll go into the birthday arc which... will be heavy, I suppose. At least, I intend it to be. I'm not going to write the culture festival, because I'm sure you can all guess how that goes if you're reading this which is in the ANIME category.** _

_**Again, Merry Christmas everybody. And I hope you all have a happy New Year as well (:** _


	45. Present Buying

_Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one._

—  _Oscar Wilde_

* * *

A cup of cheap, watery coffee slammed on the kitchen table, causing Sumire to look up from her pebbles cereal. As usual, the youngest Makoshima had her headphones covering her ears, hearing nothing but the voices of her favorite band: RADWIMPS.

"Nee-chan?" Sumire said, sliding her headphones down her ears and letting them hang around her slender neck. Her sister looked worse than usual today; Naoko's eyes were surrounded by dark circles that would make a regular insomniac jealous. "You okay there?"

"Perfectly fine," Naoko ground out, clutching the cup of coffee and taking a sip. "This tastes like shit."

"And you buy it anyway."

"It's cheap and it keeps me awake on days like these."

Sumire nodded absently, conceding to her sister's argument. "Fair enough. Did you not sleep well, Naoko-nee? I could hear you tossing and turning from my room."

"I've..." Naoko paused before looking over to the fridge, where Tadashi was hunched over searching for a jug of concentrated orange juice or whatever. "Sumire-chan, we should do something for Tadashi-nii's birthday. It's in a few days."

"Ohh. Is this what you've been thinking about?" Sumire gave her a sympathetic glance. Every year, they celebrated Tadashi's birthday just by themselves. They would buy him a cake and they would all sit in the kitchen and eat it. No happy birthday songs were ever sung. They'd stopped doing that for a while now. "What do you have in mind, nee-chan?"

"I'm not sure," Naoko admitted as Tadashi sat down at the table with his sisters. "Hey, Tadashi-nii?"

"Yeah?"

"It's your twentieth birthday this year. Is there anything you want to do?"

Instantly, Tadashi blushed. "N-nee-chan, you really don't have to do anything—"

"Yes we do!" Sumire and Naoko argued at the same time.

"You're turning twenty, nii-chan," Sumire told him as she finished the rest of her fruity pebbles. "You're going to be an adult soon." She pushed her bowl back and crossed her arms. "You can't expect us to do what we do every year."

"She's right," Naoko added as she downed the rest of her coffee with fervor. "Tadashi, before we transferred... before we came back to Miyagi... we didn't have anyone else. But now..." she trailed off.

"If we're inviting our friends to celebrate, can I bring Tobio and Shouyo?" Sumire asked eagerly.

"I can bring Makki and Mattsun," Tadashi blurted, getting caught up. "A-and Iwaizumi a-and Oikawa. They're my closest friends."

Naoko was nodding. "Alright, but I don't want  _that_ many people. Only your friends, Tadashi-nii. And Kageyama-san and Hinata-san can come as well, I suppose."  _A total of nine including us._ That would be more than enough; she didn't want a full on, large scale party.

"I can't wait to tell obaa-chan," Sumire was saying, peering at her older sister through her bangs. "Nee-chan—"

"Soon," Naoko promised. "I'll visit her soon, when I'm not busy."

"... Okay."

"Umm, I've always wanted to go to the amusement park," Tadashi said softly. "Do... you mind?"

"If you want to go, we'll go," Naoko answered. "Ask your friends—you too, Sumire."

"Right!"

* * *

"Haruka, you look like you're about to collapse," Leiko said bluntly as the girl in question sat down, her lavender hair sticking up all over the place.

"I didn't sleep well," Haruka mumbled, shaking the table as she knocked her knee against it. "Ow."

"You're not the only one," Naoko said brusquely, poking at her bento with her chopsticks. For once, she wasn't very hungry.

"Why is everyone so tired today?" Midori asked, looking around the table. "Naachan looks like she got run over by a bus and Haru-chan looks even worse off!"

"Well, we can't  _all_ look our best," Anzu said arrogantly, smirking. As if to make her point, she tossed her short red hair over her shoulder so that it framed her face very nicely, making her look like as if she had been blessed by Aphrodite herself.

"Subtle," Naoko said dryly.

"I'm tired because being the Student President isn't... all that it's cracked up to be," Haruka explained with a heavy sigh. "Emiko made it look so easy..."

"Emiko was a crap president," Leiko pointed out. "She didn't do anything."

"Just gossip," Toshio added.

"Lots and lots of gossip," Ayame grumbled, having not forgiven the girl to what she had to Midori in the past. "Thank god she's been expelled. I don't think I could deal with her walking down these halls any longer."

"You know we have the annual Christmas party coming up, right?" Haruka continued, "The Student Council is technically in charge of, um, well,  _that._ And being the president..."

"Everybody's looking up to you, aren't they?" Katsumi concluded, nodding. "Don't worry, Haru-chan! Don't forget that we have your backs."

Everybody voiced their agreement and Toshio said, "Don't forget about me! I'm in the Council as well, so I can help you, Haruka." He clenched his fist. "We'll make this the best Christmas party ever in the history of the school!"

Leiko sighed before elbowing her boyfriend. "Not so loud, dummy..."

* * *

Sumire entered Karasuno High just as a flood of students walked out of the front doors for lunch at their favorite tuck shop or at the Sakanoshita Store (where they sold delicious meat buns).

"Sumire!" Hinata greeted excitedly as she approached their usual lunch spot. Instead of eating, he and Kageyama were doing some volleyball practice.

"Hi," she returned, stepping into the unoccupied space between Kageyama and Hinata. "Training for nationals?"

"Yeah." It was Kageyama who replied this time, catching Hinata's receive to pause their training. "Are you going to help?"

"Actually..." Sumire cleared her throat. "I was hoping that you two could come to my brother's birthday this weekend."

"Sure!" Hinata instantly jumped at the opportunity.

"No," Kageyama said at the same time, glaring at Hinata. "We should be training, dumbass."

"Oi," Sumire prodded his chest, "if you don't come, I'll be lonely."

"And how is that my problem?"

"You're my boyfriend, which means you're obligated to come," Sumire said matter-of-factly, smirking. "Don't be such a downer—it'll be fun. You still have plenty of time to practice for nationals. Just take a break for once."

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "Fine." Then he paused. "Will Oikawa be there...?"

"The Grand King?" Hinata piped, eyes wide.

"Probably," Sumire informed them. "You don't have to talk to Tooru-nii if you don't want to. Just ignore him."

"Eh?! 'Tooru-nii'?!"

"Oh boy..."

* * *

"Sports shop?" Sumire muttered as she, Hinata, and Kageyama entered said shop. "When I said gift shopping, I was expecting the mall's gift shop." She glanced around the shop, her eyes stopping at a row of balls being sold: basketballs, netballs, volleyballs; you name it, it was there. Buying Tadashi something volleyball related was probably the safest bet, if not the most cliche. She decided to let the boys do their own thing and simply follow them around while they browsed—she'd get her brother something different and more out there.

"Does your brother use knee pads?" Kageyama asked as he held two different brands of the aforementioned knee pads, somehow scrutinizing their quality through the plastic.

"No, but I'm sure he'd appreciate them," Sumire answered, intertwining her fingers with Kageyama. It was a pleasant thing that neither of them had been very used to at first (but they were  _forced_ to get used to it when Tanaka bought Kageyama  _strawberry flavored ribbed condoms_ as some kind of—helpful?—joke). The little touches happened here and there, mostly when they were alone or just with Hinata.

"What position does he play again?" Hinata questioned.

"Middle blocker."

"Hmm... Ooh! Finger tape?"

"Dammit, I was going to say that next!" Kageyama grumbled. A middle blocker would definitely be more appreciative of finger tape than knee pads. But as a middle blocker, Tadashi would need to jump a lot, wouldn't he? The boy was already tall as hell, but the knee pads would help lessen the stress on his joints. He nodded mostly to himself as he chose one of the knee pads over the other.

"Can you somehow smell the better one?" Sumire wondered.

"Of course not, dumbass," Kageyama replied. "I'm not a dog."

"No," Sumire agreed, smiling mischievously, "dogs are cute."

He glared at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't worry, Tobio, I think you're cute too. Just not dog level."

"Yeah, yeah," he brushed her off, flushing slightly. "Uh, you're... okay as well."

Sumire shook her head in fond exapseration. "Knowing you, I'll take it."

To the side, Hinata was admiring at them as if they were some kind of exotic species at the zoo. He began to sweat as the mental image of Kageyama and Sumire as wolves formed in his head.  _It must be mating season!_

"You're not thinking of something dirty, are you?" Kageyama accused a guilty looking Hinata with narrowed eyes.

"Gwah!" Hinata spluttered, going red. "Of course not! I-I have more integrity than that!"

"He's pulling out big words," Sumire said solemnly, frowning. "He's definitely thinking of something dirty."

Hinata yelped and ran off to hide in another aisle.

"Oi! Come back here, you pervert!" Kageyama snapped, chasing after the pint-sized middle blocker.

"Your boyfriend?" A sales assistant in her early twenties came up to Sumire. She had a lip piercing and a mouth that was used to being pulled upward in a cheeky smile.

"Yeah," Sumire replied, giving the woman a sideways glance. Boyfriend. How odd. Just months ago, they had been fighting over a packet of unflavored chips in a twenty four hour mart. The world worked in funny ways.

"Cute," the woman said, clicking her tongue. "Do you need anything?"

Sumire shook her head. "No, but thanks anyway. I'm just here with them to shop for presents for my brother."

"Ah." The woman nodded in understanding. "A birthday, huh? He a sportsman?"

"Mmhm. Volleyball player, but I'd rather get him something unrelated to sports."

"Suit yourself. Just call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

On the other side of the mall, Naoko, Akane, and Anzu were currently shopping at an  _anime and gaming_ shop of all things, where they sold all things anime and manga related, as well as some other game-related stuff.

Naoko was fervently searching the shelves, while Akane whistled joyfully as she put on a Tokemon cap that the main character of the Tokemon series wore.

"Ugh, I should have never listened to you," Anzu was grumbling as Akane tried to force her into a Sailor Crescent outfit. "When I said I wanted to go clothes shopping, I didn't mean this!" She scoffed. "'Otaku' and 'loser' are synonymous with each other..." The red-haired girl managed to escape from Akane long enough to look over at Naoko. "What are  _you_ looking for?"

It had been pure coincidence that Akane and Anzu had run into Naoko in the 'otaku' shop. Heck, Anzu never figured Naoko to be the type to be into this nerd stuff.

"Ultraman Zoffy action figure," Naoko answered without even looking up. "I'm sure I've seen it here somewhere... here!" Triumphantly, she pulled out an action figure that was sitting in a shiny box.

Anzu looked at the expensive figurine with thinly veiled disgust. "Like, um, do I even  _want_ to know?"

"It's for my brother," Naoko told her, smiling ever so slightly as she reminisced Tadashi playing with his old Ultraman figure—one that his former best friend, Akira, had given him on his eleventh birthday. After years of use, the old thing had finally broken and been thrown away, Tadashi not wanting to keep anymore memories of Akira.

"Oh, Tadashi." Anzu nodded. "He's in my class. He's on the volleyball team... never took him to be into this kind of thing."

"Watching Ultraman was his escape," Naoko said as she paid for the toy, only lingering to talk to Anzu (Akane was busy checking out a  _real_ katana that was akin to the sword the main character from Bleach used). "He wanted to be just like Ultraman when he was a child. After dinner, he would go out to the backyard to try and develop his own fighting style using Ultraman's as a model."

"Wow." Anzu cocked an eyebrow. "Does that mean he's a martial artist too?"

"No," Naoko said simply, taking the bagged toy from the cashier. "He's not."

"O-oh, okay." Inwardly, Anzu sighed with relief. Like she needed to be terrified of another Makoshima. Wasn't one bad enough? "You know, you're not  _so_  bad when you're all docile and stuff."

"I could say the same for you." She started to leave the store but Anzu grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait! Please don't leave me here with the otaku...! We can go clothes shopping together?" Anything to get out of Akane's clutches and also not end up alone walking around in the mall like some kind of loner with no friends.

"No," Naoko answered, "I don't want to go clothes shopping."

"Erk! Wh-whatever! I'll just go wherever you go then! Wh-whatever!"

"Wow, you really are desperate," Naoko observed bluntly.

"Hrr, shut up! Brute! Cave woman!"

Naoko gave her an amused glance but didn't reply, allowing Anzu to huffily walk beside her as she headed to another shop.

As they left the anime and gaming shop, they walked past another similar shop, where the Prince of Aobajosai and his best friend were currently doing their own birthday shopping.

"Oi," Iwaizumi called to Oikawa from the next aisle. "You got anything yet?" Iwaizumi had already bought some new volleyball shoes for Tadashi at the sports shop, seeing as Tadashi's were pretty worn. Now, he was waiting for Oikawa to wrap up his own present search.

"Nope, not yet," Oikawa answered. In actuality, he had already in his basket a book on cryptozoology as well as another text that talked about surviving an encounter with the extraterrestrial. But one thing was missing... "Nope, nope..."

"Liar. I already saw you grab two books, Asskawa, what else are you looking for?"

"You'll see~"

Iwaizumi sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, yeah..." They were supposed to be meeting Makki and Mattsun at the food court soon. The pair had come with them to the mall—a place called J-Mall—but they had decided to split up. Naturally, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had gone together and they had all promised to regroup later on. Which was approximately now.

"Aha!" Oikawa's triumphant voice reached Iwaizumi's ears with no qualms. "Got it!"

"Got what?" Iwaizumi asked as Oikawa appeared around the corner of the shelf.

"This." Oikawa showed him a black box with some green coloring on the sides. The kanji on the lid of the box indicated that it was—

"An alien hunting kit?" Iwaizumi deadpanned.

"I have one of my own," Oikawa said boastfully as they proceeded to walk to the counter, where Oikawa paid for everything he had bought. "And that's not all—a book on cryptozoology and surviving an alien encounter! Me and Dashi-chan can go hunt aliens together in my backyard. You should join too—I remember I bought you a kit for your twelfth birthday!"

"Uh huh."

"Geez, Iwa-chan, be more excited, why don't you?"

As they left, Iwaizumi's phone rang. It was Makki and Mattsun, no doubt wondering where they were.

_"Um, hello?"_ Makki's voice projected through the speakers.  _"I get that a certain diva likes to be fashionably late, but_ — _"_

_"We're hungry,"_ Mattsun finished.  _"And we're starting without you, so too bad."_

"Did you order me any fries from WacDonald's?" Oikawa asked, leaning over Iwaizumi's shoulder to speak into the phone.

_"Yeah," Mattsun began._

"Thank you~"

_"We're going to eat them all."_

_"So you should probably_ — _"_

_"Run,"_ both of them concluded in unison before Makki hung up.

Oikawa squawked and grabbed Iwaizumi by the wrist, nearly making the boy drop his phone as he proceeded to run to the food court, Iwaizumi still attached to his hand.

"Hey, watch it, Shittykawa!" Iwaizumi snapped as he hastily tucked his phone back into his pants pocket with his free hand. "Goddammit!"

"Sorry, Iwa-chan, but my fries are in danger!"

"Then just order more!"

"Do you know how long the line gets?!"

The boys dashed past the sports shop as Kageyama, Hinata, and Sumire walked out, nearly bowling over the smaller two.

"The hell?" Sumire muttered as Kageyama caught her, stabilizing her. Hinata, on the other hand, had no one to hang on to and just about face-planted into an older woman's breasts. "Was that Tooru-nii?"

"Oikawa-senpai?" Kageyama tilted his head to one side. "Why is he here...?"  _And Iwaizumi-senpai as well..._

"Maybe they're buying presents too," Hinata supplied helpfully, a red slap mark on his right cheek. His stomach growled. "Man, I'm hungry. Food court, guys?"

Sumire shrugged. "Sure, I'm down with that." She'd probably just order some fries and a soda from WacDonald's or something—something cheap but delicious.

"I bet I can out-eat you, Bakageyama!" Hinata suddenly challenged, grinning.

"As if!" Kageyama retorted. "Is that a challenge, runt?"

"First one to eat ten packets of fries wins!"

"You're on!"

"Hey, don't count me out," Sumire spoke up. "I can eat just as much as you two, if not more."

"Eh? But you're so small," Hinata said.

"Trust me." Kageyama grimaced as he remembered the day that they had a food eating competition at the tuck shop. "She can."

"Be thankful that I'm not feeling so hungry today," Sumire said with a shit-eating grin.

Also approaching the food court were Anzu and Naoko, the latter after some lunch.

"Ugh, this place is horrible," Anzu complained, distastefully eyeing some left over pieces of salad glued onto a table with mayonaise. "Don't they have cleaners around here?"

Naoko ignored her in favor of looking for a good seat. But all of them—except for the salad-filled table—were occupied one way or another. Heck, there were even some tables where people were sitting  _on_ the tables themselves because there was no seating left.

"Hey, over here!" a voice called.

Naoko and Anzu turned to see Makki and Mattsun waving to them. Instantly, Anzu scowled, while Naoko merely looked bemused. Nevertheless, the made their way to the table that Makki and Mattsun were saving. They had gotten a pretty big one too—enough to fit possibly ten people.

"You looked pretty lost," Makki remarked as the girls sat opposite the boys. "So, being the kind-hearted people we are, we have decided to offer you a seat on our prestigious table."

"Cut it out," Mattsun said, giving his friend a deadpan. "Girls don't like that sort of thing."

"You don't get to talk—you're single too."

"Um, what's the catch?" Anzu demanded rudely, raising an eyebrow. "Did you think I would just magically forget about the hippopotamus comment? Is this your way of begging for forgiveness?"

The boys guffawed.

"Begging? Hah!"

"You're only here because you're with her," Mattsun informed Anzu, his gaze trailing over to where Naoko was sitting beside the red-haired girl.

"Me?" Naoko frowned. "Why...?"

"You're Tadashi's sister," Makki said simply, "We're going to be seeing you this weekend at the amusement park, so why not get to know each other now?"

"Ah." Naoko's gaze steeled over as she scrutinized them. "So you're Tadashi's friends, huh?" She pointed to her eye, giving them a questioning look.

"Huh?" The boys looked a bit confused for a few moments before realizing. "Oh, yeah, we know about that," Mattsun said, nodding.

"Do you know how he got it?"

"Nope, not a clue," Makki answered.

"Good. You'll look after him, right?"

Mattsun and Makki exchanged a glance.

"You know," Makki began, "you're not his mother. You should stop acting like it."

Anzu observed them with sharp eyes, wondering what would Naoko say next.

"I have to," Naoko said coldly. "You don't know anything, so  _you should stop acting like it_." With that, she closed up again, shifting her leg slightly; brushing against the bag that contained the Ultraman figure. Just because they were his supposed friends didn't mean that they were privy to telling her how to look after her family.

"Makki, Mattsun!" Oikawa called as he and Iwaizumi approached their table. His happy expression fell as he noticed the empty boxes in front of Makki and Mattsun. "The... fries."

"Are dead," Makki said, grinning.

"Nooo!" Oikawa moaned, smacking his head into Iwaizumi's shoulder.

"Get off me, dumbass." Roughly, Iwaizumi jerked his shoulder away from the whining Oikawa. "Serves you right for taking so long. Knowing you, there were probably a dozen of those kits but the corners were creased or something."

"Aesthetics are very important!" Oikawa protested as he took his seat beside Mattsun, Iwaizumi sitting beside Oikawa on the end. "Wouldn't you agree, Mako-chan?"

Naoko shifted her gaze to his face. "Whatever floats your boat."

"See, she agrees!"

"No, she gave up on you because you're a lost cause," Mattsun corrected, Makki and Iwaizumi nodding in agreement.

"Geh! So mean, Mattsun~"

"Um, hello?" Anzu exploded. "I'm here too, you know!"

As if on cue, Mattsun and Makki started making hippopotamus noises in between their snickering.

"SHUT UP, YOU MONKEYS!"

Iwaizumi sighed.

Naoko raised an eyebrow at his heavy sigh. "Rough day?"

"Trust me, you get used to it after sixteen years."

"I can imagine. How else would you survive?"

"I'm still here, you know," Oikawa pointed out.

"We know," Naoko and Iwaizumi replied in unison, sharing a grin as Anzu continued to shake her fist at a cackling Mattsun and Makki.

"Nee-chan!" Sumire cried as their table was once again approached by another group of people. Hinata and Kageyama were on either side of her and all of them were carrying packets and packets of chips from WacDonald's. "Can we sit here? We need somewhere to eat all this."

"Honestly!" Naoko admonished. "How much did all of that cost?"

"I only bought two, I swear!"

"Tobio-chan," Oikawa greeted, falsely cheerful. "Are those for me?"

"No," Tobio denied, blinking confusedly. "Why would they be?"

"Ack! Even my annoying kohai is being more annoying than usual today!" Oikawa whined, tears pouring down his face in a comical fashion.

"You can share with me, Tooru-nii," Sumire offered as she sat opposite him next to Anzu, who only offered her a sideways glance before returning to threatening to castrate Mattsun and Makki. "Like I said, I bought two, so you have one pack. Tobio and Shouyo bought ten each."

Oikawa shot her a grateful look. "Well, at least  _someone_ is nice today."

"Wow, ten?" Makki let out a low whistle as Kageyama and Hinata began to chow down. "I'm impressed."

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Anzu shrieked.

The hippopotamus noises resumed, causing Anzu to screech even louder, garnering some looks from other consumers.

From a distance, a silver-haired girl with cat ear headbands watched them, observing Hinata and Kageyama's intense eating competition while the others conversed and bantered (or in Anzu and Mattsun and Makki's case, argued) animatedly.

Aishi Akane couldn't help but think that Oikawa and Naoko no longer looked so lonely in the midst of their eccentric friends, from the first year freak duo to the hippopotamus impersonating third years.

"If only they could hurry up and get together already," she said to herself, balancing a wooden sword on her shoulder.

* * *

_**A/N: The present-buying~ I love writing friend dynamics so this was the result of the opening chapter to this arc.** _

_**I have the key events all written down for this arc, so hopefully it won't be terrible. There's going to be some sadness in this arc, and I want to pull it off well. As well as I can do it anyway because... I'm an inexperienced youth who's not even 16 yet xD** _

 


	46. Omake Three: Naoko

_**The Lost Child** _

_"Jingle bells, jingle bells..."_

Christmas carols wafted through the old radio and into the atmosphere as Naoko entered the little grocery store with zeal, her hair bouncing along with her movements.

"Nao-chan," the elderly shopkeeper greeted, cracking a toothy, kind smile at her. He had teeth missing in a few spots but Naoko didn't mind. He was a kind old thing and they found great joy being in each others' company. "Here to do a few Christmas errands for your parents?"

Naoko—who was to turn twelve this Christmas Eve (which was today, but she wouldn't officially be twelve until around ten o'clock)—nodded excitedly (or with as much excitement as she would show, anyway; she always had been quite a stoic little girl). "Ojii-san, I'm here to pick up some fish balls and octopus balls for tonight's steamboat."

Her parents were off at a meeting and would be taking the train back to Miyagi today to make it in time for Naoko's birthday. Both parents adored and doted on their little girl. Naoko didn't mind the attention per se, but she wished that they would treat Tadashi better; he deserved and needed the love more than she did. He had been getting bullied intensely lately due to his coming out a few years back. The fact that he had been held back two years due to him having to recover his eye didn't help very much either.

The shopkeeper gave her what she needed and she paid him handsomely, telling him to keep the change. "Ojii-san, my family is very rich. We have money to spare."

The old man's eyes crinkled as he smiled and accepted the extra money. But he didn't do it without delivering a warning first. "Careful, Nao-chan, you may not always be blessed with money to splash around."

Naoko nodded impatiently before bidding the man goodbye and a Merry Christmas. She appreciated his concern, but she doubted that the circumstances of her lifestyle would be changing anytime soon. The Makoshima parents both worked in the music and entertainment industry and were paid well for their services. They were well liked so Naoko further doubted that they'd be getting fired or resigning anytime soon.

It was already late when she walked out of the store—her parents would be arriving at the station soon, and Naoko would play her role as the good daughter and meet them there.

The processed meat balls in the plastic bag swayed back and forth as she lightly jogged along the path to te station. On her way down to her destination, she passed many other citizens doing their own thing. An elderly florist was tending to her flowers, an acne-ridden teenager was wearing a sandwich board advertising for a local cafe, and a young boy and his friend seemed to be playing some kind of game in a small park.

The boy had fluffy brown hair and his friend had dark black hair that was spiked upward. The brown-haired boy seemed to be rambling about something while his friend looked to be mildly exasperated. Naoko saw the universal finger sign for 'gun' be tossed around a few times. It was a funny sight, especially since the two boys seemed older than her by maybe a year or two.

Her journey came to a close after fifteen minutes of power-walking through the streets. Pleased with herself, Naoko sat down on a cold wooden bench, waiting for her parents to emerge from the next train and greet her with warm hugs and kisses.

All around her, people went about with their daily lives. Naoko pulled out a bag of biscuits that she had also bought from the grocery store and began to eat. Naoko loved eating—she always had and always would, no matter what. All food was comfort food to Naoko.

About an hour later, she had devoured all of her biscuits. And her parents still hadn't arrived yet, which was certainly odd. But, she supposed, with the snow, there must have been some delay that was preventing her parents' arrival. She patiently continued to wait, ignoring the sympathetic looks that strangers were giving her, having probably wrongly assumed that she was some lost child. Well, she wasn't lost at all. Defiantly, she lifted her chin to subtly glower at those 'concerned' adults. She didn't need their pity—she had grown strong on her own because she had something to protect: Tadashi.

Two hours later, the sun had set and there was literally no life at the small train station. Everybody had gone home to be with their families and friends in their warm houses. Feeling the cold biting into her skin despite the many layers she was wearing, she drew her knees to her chest, setting her feet flat on the bench. Bits of frost had gathered on the unmoved plastic bag beside her, still containing the ingredients for tonight's steamboat dinner.

No more trains arrived after the nine o'clock train on Christmas. It was already way past that time. Silently, Naoko got up and picked up the grocery bag, unable to feel her fingers thanks to the wintry chill.

Still silent, she walked all the way back home, the plastic grocery bag slapping against her thigh as she made the journey through the painfully vacant streets, all alone.

* * *

 The clock struck past ten o'clock when she received the call informing her that her parents had died in a train accident.

There was no steamboat dinner that night.


	47. A Close Encounter

_A ghost could be humping you right now and you would never know._

_— A cool guy_

* * *

_"_ The _wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round! 'Round and 'round, 'round and 'round! The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round! All through the—"_

"Can you two actually _shut the fuck up_?!" Iwaizumi whisper-shouted, turning around angrily to face a not so guilty Makki and Mattsun.

The pair of third years had actually been singing quite loudly, and had gathered some rather amused attention from the other passengers on the bus. Luckily, there were very few people; most of the passengers were actually part of their friend group.

When they didn't reply, Iwaizumi slowly turned back to face the front. No noise came from the boys sitting behind him. _Thank god they finally—_

_"The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep—"_

Iwaizumi shouted again, whipping around, ready to smack them upside the head for their infernal singing (see: screeching).

Laughter was ever present as everyone—even those who were strangers—found great joy and hilarity in Iwaizumi's particular situation.

"Chill out, Iwa-chan," Oikawa tried to appease the pissed off ace. "They're not _that_ bad."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Oikawa," Makki said, grinning as he leaned against the window. "At least _someone_ appreciates the art of song."

"Art?" Naoko called from the front, turning in her own seat to shoot them a disbelieving look. "There was _nothing_ artistic about that." She was sitting at the very, very front of the bus next to Tadashi. Kageyama, Hinata, and Sumire had managed to squeeze themselves into a single two-seater, with the latter people being small enough.

"Thank you," Iwaizumi started, "for being the one reasonable person in this entire vehicle."

"Makoshima-chan!" Mattsun cried, affronted at her remark. "How could you so cruelly diss our _art_ like that?"

"If you want to call the sounds of a woman giving birth _art_ , then suit yourself," Naoko answered casually.

Oikawa snickered, as did Iwaizumi.

Makki and Mattsun gave them a mock glare.

"Oikawa! You were supposed to be on our side," Mattsun accused.

"Yeah, you turncoat asshole," added Makki, crossing his arms.

"Sumire!" Hinata was saying to the girl in question as he read the brochure with wide eyes. "They have a merry-go-round! I haven't been on one since I was a kid." He shoved the opened brochure in her face, causing her to recoil before she actually got to read it.

"I've never been on one," Sumire admitted as she gently pushed back against Hinata to get the colorful paper out of her personal bubble. "We should go, Shouyo."

"Yeah, let's do this!"

Kageyama scoffed at what he believed was a ride more suitable for children than teenagers. "You're not missing out on much," he told them, giving Sumire a longer glance than Hinata. "All it does is spin around and around in a never ending circle."

"If you think about it, a circle doesn't have a fixed point of a beginning or an end," Sumire commented thoughtfully. "If that's the case, that means the chicken didn't come before the egg and the egg didn't come before the chicken because a circle has no beginning."

"If you think about it, you're a nerd, you twig," Kageyama said, smirking down at her before resting his elbow on her head.

"You ass," she grumbled, her cheeks lightly flushing. "Geez, your elbow is so pointy! Get off!"

"No," Kageyama refused, relishing in teasing his girlfriend. "Damn shortie..."

"I'm still a growing girl!" she protested, glaring at him.

"And I'm a growing boy," Kageyama retorted smartly.

"Dammit!"

Hinata was still engrossed in the brochure he had picked up from a travel agency, detailing the attractions that were in Sendai (where their bus was heading to). Yagiyama Benyland was where Tadashi had chosen to spend his birthday (which was obviously today, Saturday) and Hinata was brushing up on his knowledge about the place so he could go on the best rides and drag his friends with him as well.

"The Cork Screw!" Hinata read out loud with no small amount of excitement and nerves. It looked scary but Hinata was feeling adventurous enough to try it out. "Guys, look!"

Kageyama read the description of the Cork Screw roller coaster ride. Well, Hinata had gone from zero to a hundred pretty quickly—only Hinata would express interest in a carousel one moment and in an extreme roller coaster the next.

"You sure you can handle it?" Kageyama asked, raising an eyebrow at the orange-haired boy. From the way Hinata spontaneously threw up due to his nerves, Kageyama didn't want any puke-related incidents happening.

"Of course I can!" Hinata responded vehemently.

"Whatever you say." A wicked smirk made its way up Kageyama's features. "If I were you, I'd worry more about the height limit first."

"Rude," Sumire droned.

"Bakageyama!" Hinata screeched at the same time.

Meanwhile, Tadashi was talking to Naoko.

"I'm so excited," he was telling her, smiling genuinely. "I've never been to an amusement park before! What kind of rides do you want to go on, nee-chan?"

"Anything you want to go on," Naoko replied easily, smiling back at her beloved big brother. "Got anything in mind?"

"I don't know... all of these look so good!"

Suddenly, the infamous song started up from the back of the bus again.

_"The doors on the bus go open and shut! Open and shut, open and shut! The doors on the bus go—"_

_"SHUT UP!"_

* * *

 The group of nine filed out of the bus and, with a short five minute walk, they made it to the entrance of Yagiyama Benyland.

"Careful, Iwa-chan," Oikawa joked as they entered, "don't glare too hard or you'll scare some of those kids."

In almost bored retaliation, Iwaizumi punched him in the arm.

"Iwa-chaan!" Oikawa whined, the corners of his eyes tearing up from the pain. "Rude as always..."

"Hey, thing one and thing two, hurry up or we'll leave you behind," Makki threatened, the rest of the group having already pulled ahead.

"Like you can talk," Oikawa huffed as he and Iwaizumi quickly caught up to them. "You and Mattsun—"

"Are amazing?" Mattsun suggested.

"Bodacious?" Makki supplied.

"How about outrageous?" Naoko threw in without even turning around.

"Nee-chan!" Tadashi exclaimed, mortified and more than a little embarrassed.

"Relax, nii-san," Naoko said flippantly. "It's not like I'm lying or anything."

"Damn, she's got us in a box," Makki conceded, nodding. "Remember that time when I pushed you into the lake in summer camp?"

Mattsun gave the strawberry blonde a withering glare. "You nearly froze my balls off, you bastard!"

"Fuck," Kageyama muttered, cringing at the thought of that happening. Even Hinata shivered, having half an ear in the conversation as he read his brochure.

"TMI," Sumire said loudly, giving Mattsun a sideways glance.

"There are children here, Mattsun!" Oikawa admonished, clapping his hands over Sumire's ears.

"Eww, your hands are sweaty."

"Eh?! That's the thanks I get for protecting your innocence?!"

Naoko shot them both a look. "I wouldn't trust either of you to protect anything innocent."

"Don't loop me in with him!" Sumire protested.

"You brat!" Oikawa pouted. "You should be honoured that you get to be grouped into the same category as me by the magnificent Mako-chan."

"Trust me, she shouldn't be," Iwaizumi said dryly.

Naoko's lips quirked upward ever so slightly.

Eventually, they all decided to split up and meet back up at a common spot at a later time of day, since all of them wanted to try different rides.

Naturally, Sumire, Kageyama, and Hinata all gravitated toward each other. The same went for Makki and Mattsun, who disappeared pretty quickly into the crowd.

That left Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Tadashi, and Naoko; Tadashi didn't want to split from Iwaizumi and Oikawa's side and Naoko followed wherever he went.

"Do they have any space-themed rides?" Oikawa was wondering, tilting his head upward to to stare at the amount of tall rides and buildings.

"Yeah, no," Iwaizumi deadpanned. He checked the map that they had all received at the entrance, courtesy of some staff members. "They do have a mystery house though." Which was basically another less demoralizing way to say "haunted house".

"That works too," Oikawa said happily. "Where is it?"

"According to the map, it's just around the corner," Iwaizumi informed. "This way."

"Are you okay with this?" Naoko asked Tadashi as the four made their way to the mystery house. She knew that Tadashi was easily spooked by a multitude of things and wasn't really up for taking any chances. Not unless he really wanted to. If that was the case, she wouldn't fight him about it.

Tadashi nodded, though his eyes were clouded with uncertainty. "I'll b-be fine..."

Naoko frowned a concerned little frown. "If you're sure..."

"Hurry up, Mako-chan, Dashi-chan!" called Oikawa as he practically frolicked to where the mystery house stood, tall and proud. A devious smirk was on his face. "You're not scared, are you?"

"N-no," Tadashi stammered, his hands starting to sweat and become clammy.

Naoko touched his arm comfortingly. "I'll be right beside you," she promised. She proceeded to answer Oikawa's jibe of a question. "And no, Tooru, I'm not."

Oikawa merely chuckled. "Feel free to hold my hand if you do get scared~"

Naoko didn't respond, instead letting the staff member running the mystery house speak for the first time.

"Welcome one, welcome all!" he greeted in a manner that he probably thought was going to scare them.

None of them seemed to be impressed by his poor acting skills, even Tadashi. Suddenly, this mystery house seemed a lot less exciting and scary.

The man proceeded to tell them all about a thriller experience with western ghosts and whatnot. It was only when he got to the last part that they actually started to pay attention.

"In the darkest corner of the darkest room," the man said, suddenly seeming a lot more serious than he had been before, "there is a real haunted painting. Legend says that it is haunted by the ghost of a woman who was murdered by her husband, still looking for her lost child. Should you stumble across that painting and disturb her, you must present to her testimony of your own pain, or she will kill you." He grinned. "With that said, here!" The man handed them all a permenant black marker.

"What's this for?" Iwaizumi inquired, though he already had a good idea what the man was up to.

"Why," the man said, "for you to write your names on the painting, of course!"

"Ehh?!" Tadashi cried, going pale. "D-do we have to?"

"Yes!" Oikawa answered for the staff member. "Come on, Dashi-chan, this will be our chance to see a real life ghost!"

"No," Naoko said flatly. "If he doesn't want to, then don't make him."

"It's okay," Tadashi mumbled, blushing as his sister came to his defence. "I'm sure it's not real..."

"Oh, it's very real," the man said unhelpfully. "Good luck! You'll need it..." As they all blinked, he suddenly disappeared. Undeterred, Oikawa marched into the mystery house with a confidence that Tadashi only wished he could have.

The interior of the building was dark and musty, which was to be expected as it technically was a haunted house.

They all expected something or another to pop out from around every corner to terrify them, but none did. In fact, it was as if Benyland hadn't even bothered to install the witches, demons, and skeletons that the man had promised them in his long-winded speech. There weren't even any other people, which was certainly odd. Or maybe there were and the house was just so big that the four didn't run into anyone else.

"This is lame," Oikawa eventually complained as they wandered around in the dark, just light enough to be able to see each other. "What a waste of money..."

"Wait." Iwaizumi frowned. "We didn't give him any money."

"Didn't we?" It was Oikawa's turn to frown. When he thought about it, Iwaizumi was right. None of them had paid the fee of three hundred yen per person. Had the man somehow forgotten?

"We should leave," Naoko said, her voice as calm as ever. "There's something weird going on around here? Where are all the props? The people?"

Tadashi glanced around uncertainly, unable to see much farther than his nose. "Y-yeah, let's just go..."

Oikawa sighed. "Fine, fine. There's nothing to see here anyway." He paused. "Where's the exit?"

Nobody answered. Nobody _knew_.

"We'll just have to keep walking," Naoko eventually decided for all of them. "We can't stay here forever."

So they did, and it felt like they were in there for half an hour until they finally came across a dimly lit room. It wasn't the exit but light had to mean something good, right?

"This room stinks," Oikawa murmured as they entered. Then the light switched off. "The hell?"

"Relax, we'll just leave the room," Iwaizumi said as he groped along the wall for the door. "... Fuck."

"What?" Oikawa asked.

"I can't find the damn door."

Naoko and Tadashi started feeling around the room as well, searching for the missing door. This was getting weirder and weirder.

Outside, thunder cracked.

"What?!" Naoko whipped her head around, alarmed as a window that wasn't there before suddenly appeared. Outside, it was raining heavily. _No way! Just an hour ago, it was sunny!_ Cold, but sunny nevertheless. They were expecting snow in the evening but certainly not rain or hail.

Iwaizumi swore again as he tried and failed to find the door. Then lightning flashed through the window, illuminating the room—

And the painting hanging up on the end of the room. A woman, slim and pale, her eyes closed and her face serene.

They relaxed.

The woman in the painting opened her eyes, her full cheeks becoming gaunt and sallow, as if all the collagen had been sucked out of her face. Her lower jaw seemed to shrink before it completely fell off, the flesh still deteriorating off the bone as it disappeared into the unknown. Then, disgustingly, the missing piece of her face actually grew back from roof of her mouth.

Tadashi screamed first, then Oikawa. Then Iwaizumi, who didn't bother reigning in his fear anymore. A million thoughts went through Naoko's head as the woman in the painting started to reach a bony, clawed hand toward them, the paint flaking away rapidly and the frame of the painting cracking sickeningly as she attempted to cross into the living realm to hunt their souls.

Fumbling and breathing shallowly from her rising fear, Naoko hastened to roll up the sleeve of her long-sleeved sweater. The woman was halfway out when her large, bloodshot eyes flicked to the hideous, thick scar that ran from Naoko's wrist to god knew where as it disappeared into the rest of her sleeve.

_You must present to her testimony of your own pain._

Naoko continued to hold up the remnant of the injury she had received from the rogue dog, praying to all the gods that it would work and the man hadn't just been bullshitting her.

Catching on, a quivering Tadashi stepped forward next to his sister, pushing his short blonde bangs upward to fully uncover his blind eye. Small little scars were spattered around the edges of the eye. The ghastly woman regarded him for a few seconds before she turned on Iwaizumi and Oikawa, her maw opening wide to reveal a set of sharp, curved black teeth, covered in an oily substance as well as bits of gore—intestines, livers; other bits of decaying human organs that had once belonged to her forgotten victims. There was even an eyeball impaled on one of her blade-like teeth.

His normally tanned face white, Iwaizumi rolled up his pant leg to reveal a star-shaped scar that he had gotten as a child when he had been too careless. It was an effort not to piss himself, but the ghost passed him and turned to the last remaining candidate for a meal.

Oikawa.

They all stared at the brunet imploringly, unable to say any words. Tadashi was silently screaming and Naoko felt like her heart was going to rip itself out of her chest to escape the demon before them.

Oikawa Tooru stared into the deathly eyes of the ghost woman, his feet rooted to the ground, unable to even flinch when her long, black, worm-like tongue wriggled out from her oesophagus, something which had to be impossible—if she were still human.

So, shakily, he showed her his fingers—he had broken most of them at least twice and there were still some scars from particularly bad breaks (one time, there had been a bone shard poking out).

She continued to advance on him before freezing in her tracks. From the painting, her torso had become elongated in order to reach the four teenagers. Then, with a pained shriek, her head snapped backward at an awkward angle and she seemed to be forcibly bent back into normal proportions as she returned to the painting, her claws dragging across the wooden floor and leaving long, deep scratches behind.

Naoko stomach churned as the door suddenly reappeared and she was dragged out by Oikawa—or Iwaizumi, she couldn't tell.

They continued to run and burst out of the main door, shocked, pale, and trembling. No one even spared them a glance, not until they exited the immediate vicinity of the mystery house and back into the sunshine.

Where Naoko proceeded to throw up in a nearby bin, garnering some disgusted looks from passersby. Iwaizumi was muttering curses under his breath while Oikawa remained silent. Tadashi was babbling about something incoherent.

Slowly, but surely, they all calmed down.

Oikawa barked a laugh. "That... was... I don't ever want to fucking do that ever again."

"Dumbass," Iwaizumi said as he blood returned to his face. They were safe now. All that had happened was just some shared delusion, right? "Fuck..."

Naoko, still pale, sunk into the floor before standing. "This... I..." She had no words. She simply had no words.

Tadashi was breathing heavily but nodded in agreement.

When they ran into Mattsun and Makki later, they described their experiences to them. Eerily, the two unaffected boys told them that the mystery house had been shut down months ago for refurnishing.

Tadashi fainted.

"You broke Dashi-chan!"

"Nii-san!"

"Someone slap him awake!"

* * *

 "Okay," Sumire began as she looked over to where Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Naoko, and Tadashi were sitting. "Why do all of you look like death personified?"

Naoko sighed. None of them were as terrified as they had been before, thankfully. "It's a long story and I don't particularly feel up to telling you about it right now, Sumire-chan."

"Want to hear what Kageyama and I did?" Hinata asked.

"Don't you dare!" snarled Kageyama.

Himata proceeded to tell them all about him and Kageyama having some sort of misadventure with pies before their food arrived (they were all sitting at a table in the eating area).

"Then Kageyama got to take a pie back to eat! But then this guy started hitting on Sumire—"

"He wasn't hitting on me," Sumire said, more for Naoko's benefit than anyone else's.

"—and Kageyama smashed the pie into his face!"

"He was asking for directions!" Sumire snapped.

"Probably to kidnap you while you were distracted!" Kageyama shouted back. "You need to be more careful, dumbass!"

"And you need to stop being so suspicious of people!"

A camera flashed.

They all whipped around to the perpetrator.

Naoko blinked in surprise, "Mizushima, right?"

* * *

  ** _A/N: Mizushima makes her return! Happy New Year, everyone! I'm not sure if anyone here gets scared easily but, eh..._**

**_After the birthday arc is over is the Christmas arc... which I am so bloody excited for because... ack, I don't want to spoil it! After Christmas, we get to the reward arc (though in between, there will probs be more stuff happening. If you follow the current timeline, you'll know what)._ **


	48. Pictures and Memories

_Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory._

_— Theodor Seuss Geisel_

* * *

Mizushima jumped backward as if she had been stung, still holding onto her beloved camera. She looked almost exactly the same as when Naoko had last seen her at the Sendai Standoff—her cheeks were not as chubby as before and she seemed to have lost some weight around her arms and breasts as well.

Despite the somewhat noticeable physical change, Mizushima still seemed to be the same person as she was on the inside. She was blushing deeply as she regarded the group of nine, muttering something about beautiful people under her breath.

At last, she looked up and answered Naoko's question with a wary smile, "Y-yep, it's me. And you're Makoshima...!" She squealed softly. "You look as beautiful as always! And all your friends are beautiful too!" Then she gasped. "Oh no! I'm sorry for taking that picture of you guys without your permission! Do you mind? Because if you do, I'll delete it for sure."

No one really objected so Mizushima simply stood there awkwardly, until Oikawa decided to bail the girl out.

"Tsu-chan," he addressed her with a smile, "do you still have the photo that you took of us at the Standoff?" Mizushima had promised to pass it on to him but she had never gotten around to doing so.

Mizushima's face turned even redder when Oikawa called her by her new nickname (as of a few seconds ago). "Sorry about that. I've been very busy. I tried to come to your Culture Festival but I couldn't make it." She took off her backpack and unzipped it, setting it on the floor and kneeling. "I think I have it in here somewhere, so I can give it to you now!"

"Thanks, Tsu-chan!" He winked at her as she handed him the developed photo. "You look a bit different. Care to join us and catch up? I'd love to know what happened after the competition."

"Yeah," Sumire piped up, her eyes lighting up before darkening. "What happened between you and Ryouta?"

"Ah." Mizushima took Oikawa's advice and sat down in an empty seat next to Hinata, who scooted over a bit to accomodate her.

Before she even began her tale of what had happened after the Standoff, she had already garnered their attention. Even Makki and Mattsun, who hadn't been at the competition, were giving her their time of day.

"After the competition," Mizushima started, adjusting the strap around her neck—the one that connected with the camera—as she spoke. "Everything was normal. We went back home and everything but... Ryouta was gone on Monday. Apparently, according to Sora-chan, she transferred to another school in Tokyo."

"Coward," Oikawa commented, his voice sounding uncharacteristically cold. By now, the terrifying painting had all but been forgotten by the four who had encountered it. Instead, they were all curious about Mizushima's experiences—and, by extension, Ryouta's as well.

"O-oh, please don't say that," Mizushima mumbled. "Rin-chan—I mean, Ryouta—was..."

"Please don't even try to defend her," Sumire said with a scowl. "I know you thought she was your friend but... just don't."

Mizushima sighed. "I know." She proceeded to tell them about what she had heard from the other girls in the orchestra. Now that Ryouta was no longer there to be domineering over everyone, most—but not all—of her band mates had warmed up to her significantly, no longer teasing her about her weight or her quirks. Apparently, according to the talk, Ryouta had transferred over to Nekoma High in Tokyo. There were also rumours about her family members—the ones who she was staying with, her aunt and her cousin—had actually died in a car crash and left Ryouta to look after her other cousin, who was still only a baby, by herself.*

She then admitted to thinking that the rumours were false, but she wasn't entirely sure since no one, not even Susumu Sora, Ryouta's former accomplice and partner in crime, had any contact with her. Being rich, Ryouta had likely gotten a new phone or something from her socialite mother.

"Geez," Mattsun said at the end of her explanation. "I have no idea who this chick is, but I'd hate to be her."

"You look good," Iwaizumi said to Mizushima before realizing how forward he had just sounded. He coughed and blushed slightly. "I didn't mean it _that_ way..."

Oikawa snickered as his best friend's expense, as did Makki and Mattsun (and Hinata, much to Kageyama's confusion), but, luckily, Mizushima was understanding enough to let it slide.

"The girls have been trying to make me lose weight," Mizushima explained, looking a little proud of herself. She glanced down at her breasts, which were not as large as they had been before. "... But the first place you lose weight is always where you don't want to lose it."

"You're not even... ah, whatever, if you want to, go for it," Sumire said, shaking her head. "You wanna hang with us for a while? It's my brother's birthday today."

"Oh! Happy birthday." She said it to all of them, having no idea which boy was Sumire's brother.

"Thanks," Tadashi called from the other side of the table, giving her a small smile. "I'm going to buy a snack. Anyone want to come...?"

Before Naoko could volunteer herself, Oikawa stepped up. "I'll go. I think they sell milk bread at that stand over there."

"O-okay!" Tadashi blushed at the thought of being alone with Oikawa. Sure, the brunet had rejected him already, but he couldn't help but still have his heart beat faster whenever they got even remotely intimate.

The two got up and left just as everyone started talking as a whole once again, sharing stories and whatnot.

"Dashi-chan," Oikawa said conversationally as they lined up at the snack bar, "You know, we never got to talk about that day."

"H-huh? W-what day?"

Oikawa smiled disarmingly at him. "Why, the day you confessed to me, of course. I think it's time to have a conversation that's been long overdue."

Tadashi stared wordlessly at the ground.

"You apologized to me," Oikawa began, "why? Was it only because you were—are—attracted to me?" He tried not to sound too distasteful at the idea of going out with his childhood bully. The idea still weirded him out a bit.

Tadashi's head snapped upward in shock and disbelief as the line moved forward. "N-no!" he cried, looking mortified that Oikawa would have even insinuated such a thing. "That's n-not it! I didn't apologize because I was attracted to you, Oikawa; I apologized because I didn't treat you right in the past and it was only the right thing to do after so many years."

"Mm..." Oikawa gave him a sidelong glance. "If you're so sorry... why did you do it in the first place? Just what are you sorry about? That you hurt me? Or is it something else?"

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," Tadashi insisted.

"Then why did you do it?" Oikawa sounded mildly frustrated. "Why did you bully me?" Tadashi flinched and Oikawa ploughed on, "It's not a nice word, is it? What you did. You were a bully." He calmed himself down, remembering that he had called off his revenge scheme long ago.

"I..." The words became stuck in Tadashi's throat. "Because I was angry."

"At what? I never did anything to you."

"At the world," Tadashi answered tersely. "At my stepmother—Naoko and Sumire's mother."

"... Why?" Oikawa sounded more curious than anything else now.

At first, Tadashi hesitated, unwilling to disclose to Oikawa the reason. After moments of deliberation, he said, "She hit me. She didn't like me; she only loved her own children." He paused. "But it got better as I grew older."

Oikawa didn't even spare him a look of pity. "I see," he said simply, looking straight ahead. There were only two people ahead of them now; one was an obese man that covered everyone else's view of the cashier. "At least you had a reason to take out your anger on all the younger kids." A thought suddenly struck him. "You never bullied Mako-chan or Sumire-chan, did you?"

Tadashi shook his head firmly. "Never," he said solemnly, with much more resolve than Oikawa had ever seen in him. "Never Naachan. Or Sumire-chan."

"Why not? Because they were your sisters?" From what he had heard so far, whether you were family or not didn't mean jackshit when it came to abuse.

Again, the blonde shook his head. "Because they were the only ones on my side."

It certainly sounded like Naoko and Sumire. When the rest of the world walked out on him, they would walk in.

At last, the obese man in front of them cleared out of the way to wait for his churros, revealing a young man with sandy hair and a bored expression on his face. He was around Tadashi's age, so older than Oikawa.

Oikawa stepped forward to place his order before realizing that Tadashi had not fallen into step alongside him. He turned back. "Dashi-chan?"

Tadashi was frozen with fear as he regarded the cashier, not even hearing Oikawa call his name. By the time he snapped out of it, he could only utter one word—a name, "Ichirou."

The cashier—Ichirou, was it?—stared blankly back at the stiff Tadashi. "Can I help you?"

Oikawa took the reins. "Yes, actually. A milk bread roll for me and..." He turned to Tadashi again.

"Just... a box of hot chips," Tadashi offered lamely.

Oikawa repeated the order although Ichirou had obviously heard Tadashi speak.

As Ichirou went to prepare the food, another worker stepped in to place all the other orders. Tadashi and Oikawa were forced to move to the side with the obese man so they wouldn't be in the way of others.

"Ichirou," Tadashi said meekly. "I..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say to him next.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow as Ichirou turned to them while he gave the fat man his churros.

"What?" Ichirou asked flatly, reminding him of a much ruder and arrogant version of Naoko. "I'm working, Makoshima. Don't talk to me more than you have to."

Tadashi merely stared at him. "Okay."

Ichirou ignored his compliance and continued to prepare the food, scooping the sizzling chips into a box without draining the oil before fetching the milk bread for Oikawa.

"Who's that?" Oikawa asked casually, hands in his pockets.

"My ex-boyfriend," Tadashi answered, sounding strained.

At that, something inside Ichirou seemed to snap as he glared furiously at Tadashi. "We were never a thing. I hate people like you. I only accepted the confession so I could show the school how stupid you really are."

Oikawa watched the exchange with a glint in his eyes, waiting for Tadashi to defend himself.

"And then you set your sister on me," Ichirou continued, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "She gave me two black eyes and broke my arm in two places, you know."

"I didn't," Tadashi weakly protested. "She did it on her own accord, I'm sorry—"

"Save it. If you're really sorry, then you'll stay out of my way. Here." He put their food on the counter. "I don't want to see your face ever again." He walked away to serve the next customer.

 _What_ _an_ _ignorant_ _asshole_ , Oikawa thought distastefully as he and Tadashi returned to their table with the food. He had longed to say something in Tadashi's defence, but it hadn't been his battle to fight.

"Hey, Dashi-chan?"

"Y-yeah...?"

"Don't listen to him." _Because I would have treated you the same once upon a time, minus the homophobic part._

Tadashi cracked a small, tired smile. "... Okay."

* * *

"There!" Sumire pointed up at a gigantic metallic structure—an elaborate roller coaster. "The Cork Screw." She turned to everybody. "You guys up for it?"

Naoko shrugged. "If Tadashi wants to ride it, I'll go too."

Makki and Mattsun were looking up at he structure with awe.

"Fucking—"

"—amazing?" Makki supplied.

"I was going to say 'hell', but fine." He shot Sumire a glance. "You sure you want go on that monstrosity?"

"He's asking you if you think you're tall enough," Kageyama said.

"Shut up, that wasn't what he was saying," Sumire huffed. "And, yeah, I do want to go. What about you, Hinata?"

"Erm..." The orange-haired kid was already balking at the sheer height of the ride and the screams of the passengers.

"I'll go!" Oikawa volunteered, grinning excitedly. Riding roller coasters always made him feel like he was taking off into space in a rocket. "Iwa-chan as well!"

"Yeah, yeah," Iwaizumi said dismissively.

"I've never been on a roller coaster before," Tadashi mused, "I think we should all give it a try."

Naoko nodded. "If you want to ride, that's fine with me."

Mizushima sweatdropped before giggling nervously. "Sorry, but I'm not very good at riding roller coasters... I'll stay down here and snap photos of the rest of you, though!"

"Where are you doing to stand?" Oikawa asked eagerly. "Do you think you can take me at a good angle?"

"Idiot!" Iwaizumi slapped his arm. "Is that all you care about?"

Mizushima laughed, holding up her camera. "I can try. Good luck guys, try not to scream too much!"

"Errk, wait—" Hinata whimpered as Kageyama and Sumire dragged him along with the rest of the group. "L-let go!"

"What? Too chicken?" Kageyama mocked.

"Sh-shut up! You know how high that is?! It looked a lot smaller in the picture!"

Sumire gave him a disbelieving stare. "Please don't tell me you thought that the picture was to scale."

Hinata blushed. "Of course not! I'm not that stupid!"

"But you're still stupid," Kageyama pointed out.

"Like to have room to talk, _Bakageyama_ ," Sumire teased.

In response, he flicked the side of her head in annoyance, causing her to mutter and glare at him, no real vexation in her eyes.

So, much to Hinata's dismay, they all lined up for the Cork Screw while Mizushima stood in a scenic location, ready to take the photos when her new friends all got on the ride and passed her.

"Don't worry, shrimpy-chan," Oikawa reassured Hinata, "But if you throw up, try not to do it on me. I'm sure Tobio-chan won't mind though."

"I would mind," Kageyama corrected with a frown. "What makes you think I wouldn't mind?"

Iwaizumi glared at Oikawa hard enough that he muttered a small, barely coherent apology to Kageyama.

"Alright, guys! This way!" The staff member running the ride was ushering the people in front of them to move as the last batch of people returned with their hair blown all over the place. They stumbled out of the roller coaster cars to allow the next group on. More staff members on duty cut off the group till Makki and Mattsun, so that meant that they would all be in one group.

"How much you wanna bet that Oikawa screams first?" Makki was saying to Mattsun.

"Eh. Four hundred yen. Because shrimpy might scream too."

"Deal."

"I'm right here, you know!" Oikawa protested hotly.

"Make it five hundred," Iwaizumi said, joining in.

"Five hundred and fifty," Naoko added, turning back to bet with the boys. "But not actually." Like she would actually waste money on a stupid bet like this.

"Fine by me," said Makki.

Oikawa began to whine again just as the previous group of people returned, looking like they had just been thrown into a giant centrifugal washing machine.

Hinata balked. "Is it too late for me to leave...?"

"Yes," everybody said at the same time, sounding like they were having way too much fun at the boy's expense.

"Try not to cry too much, Mizushima will be taking photos," Kageyama advised the middle blocker.

Hinata looked even more worried than he had been before. At this point, he was only hoping that those photos wouldn't get into the wrong hands (the rest of the team back at Karasuno, pretty much. Tanaka, Noya, and Tsukishima would never let him hear the end of it).

At that moment, the nine of them were ushered into the four-seater cars. Somehow, the desired arrangements got a bit muddled up. Mattsun and Makki and Kageyama and Sumire were still together, but Tadashi ended up next to Hinata and Oikawa next to Naoko. Iwaizumi sat next to a stranger, being the odd one out.

Mattsun and Makki shared the first car with Iwaizumi and the stranger, with the former pair sitting at the front; Tadashi and Hinata were in the car behind them—the second car—and also at the front of their car. Sumire and Kageyama were sitting behind them, Kageyama behind Hinata and Sumire behind Tadashi. In the third car, Naoko and Oikawa sat together at the front. The rest of the seats were filled with randoms that they would never know the name of.

The staff member doing all the ushering secured them in their seats and waved them off. Hinata looked around, terrified, as they exited what was considered a safe area.

Tadashi nervously fidgeted in his seat. Sumire leaned forward to reassure him just as the roller coaster cars picked up speed all of a sudden, causing her to snap back into her seat with a yell. Kageyama barely had time to be concerned about her as they started going up and down and upside-down in the span of seconds.

"WAAAHHHHHH!" Hinata screamed, tears flowing out of his open eyes.

Makki could be heard cursing loudly at the front as he lost four hundred yen to Mattsun; same went for Iwaizumi as well, who had bet five hundred yen.

At this point, they were all shouting or screaming in one way or another. Oikawa was half shrieking and half laughing hysterically as the Cork Screw rocked them back and forth and up and down.

Naoko was silent at first, but soon joined Oikawa in his laughing crusade, her honking, heaving laugh sounding. Her heart raced from the hurricane-speed winds they seemed to be experiencing. The ride shook them all in their seats, especially Hinata, who was starting to look a little green in Tadashi's opinion.

"MAKO-CHAAN!" Oikawa shouted over the intensity of everything. "YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE GOING INTO CARDIAC ARREST!"

"WHAT?!" Naoko yelled back, unable to hear properly. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"I SAID—"

Iwaizumi swore very, very loudly as retching could be heard. A green-brown substance flew from Hinata's mouth as he finally succumbed to his motion sickness.

Tadashi cried out and cringed away from the vomiting boy, lest he get puke all over him on his _birthday_.

If Makki and Mattsun could turn their heads around, they would have, but the ride was too intense.

"WAUGH!" Sumire caterwauled as she closed her eyes. "SHOUYO!"

"BLURRGGH!" Hinata continued to throw up. And where was all that vomit going?

Kageyama luckily had his eyes and mouth closed as the vomit stream was thrown backwards... into his face and neck and hair.

Eventually, Hinata stopped throwing up and the wind blew-dry or blew away most of the vomit on Kageyama's body.

"HINATA DUMBASS!" he hollered furiously, careful not to get any remaining puke in his oral cavity.

Oikawa was laughing harder than ever with Naoko as they passed Mizushima without even knowing, the girl's camera flashing as she took pictures from below. They had passed her some few times already and she had gotten plenty of great photos.

When they finally got off, Kageyama quivering with rage, Hinata fell to the floor on his knees and began kissing the ground frantically, even as his head still spun from the ride.

"I can't believe you!" Kageyama seethed as he picked up Hinata by the collar of his shirt. They were now out of the ride and meeting up with Mizushima. "YOU DUMBASS! Th-this...!" He couldn't even express his anger into words anymore. Royally pissed, he threw Hinata high into the air.

The nimble boy landed on his feet, wobbling a bit. "Eep!" He flinched at Kageyama's dark look.

"You look good with that all over you, Tobio-chan," Oikawa said teasingly. "Ever consider making it a permanent thing?"

"Hrr, shut up!"

"You should probably got get yourself cleaned up," Sumire suggested, sweatdropping.

Kageyama calmed slightly at his girlfriend's voice. "Yeah," he said gruffly, "Tch!" He smacked Hinata upside the head. "You should have aimed at the twig."

"I resent that remark," Sumire sniffed.

While Kageyama went to clean himself up, Mizushima showed all of them the photos she had taken.

"Amazing," Iwaizumi praised. "Could you develop these for me, please?"

"Same here," Makki said, Mattsun nodding to indicate that he wanted some too.

"Me too!" Hinata added, having recovered from his motion sickness.

"Sure thing!" Mizushima gave them a thumbs up. "I'll give all of you some."

"Just give one set to us, please," Naoko spoke for the Makoshimas, "since we're a family."

Sumire and Tadashi nodded in agreement, both in awe of the beautiful photos Mizushima had snapped.

She had photos of pretty much all of them, including Makki and Mattsun with their tongues out and lips pulled back by the force, Hinata throwing up and Tadashi flinching in terror, Kageyama's eyes wide before he shut them due to the incoming vomit, Sumire looking like she had just witnessed the most disturbing thing in the world when said vomit splashed all over Kagyama, and—

"Wow," Makki said, letting out a low whistle at the last photo. Oikawa and Naoko, their laughs and smiles frozen in time in a winsome candid shot. They both looked as happy as ever, the gentle sunlight glistening off the railing from a gap in the clouds in the background.

"Huh." Oikawa stared at the unmoving image for a little while longer, Naoko peering around his arm to do the same. A warm feeling bloomed in his chest as he regarded their happy, carefree expressions. "I mean, I knew I was attractive, but—"

Naoko and Iwaizumi both punched him in the arm in a double team.

"Ouch! Okay, okay, _sorry_ for ruining the moment!" He pouted and crossed his arms after giving Mizushima her camera back.

When Kageyama returned, wet and in a dark mood (which, thankfully, didn't last for long), they went on even more rides, careful to avoid the ones that would probably cause Hinata to spontaneously vomit.

They bought cotton candy and popcorn from snack stalls, Naoko occasionally berating her siblings for spending so much before relenting with a sigh. Oikawa bought an extra large fairy floss which everyone took a handful of, much to his dismay.

Mizushima took more photos, including a group one in all their cotton candy and popcorn glory. In the picture, Kageyama and Hinata were glaring at each other, Kageyama's mouth open in a shout (Hinata had tried to take more than his fair share of the popcorn he had bought for him and Sumire); Makki and Mattsun were grinning and showing peace signs, as was the same for Sumire, who only looked oblivious to the chaos which was Hinata and Kageyama behind her. Along the way, some of them had bought gigantic bows, cat ears, or mouse ears. Iwaizumi had been forced by Oikawa to wear a pair of mouse ears, Oikawa himself was wearing cat ears, as was Naoko, and the three were looking particularly peculiar. Iwaizumi had his arms crossed but was smiling, Oikawa had his arms around Iwaizumi and Naoko, and Naoko was smiling softly into the camera, angling her body slightly to the right as she was on the edge of the photo. Tadashi was smiling bashfully, standing beside Sumire and nearly covering up Hinata and Kageyama due to his height.

At the end of the day, Mizushima had gotten all her photos developed at a nearby store and had given the promised photos to them before they all went their separate ways.

As the night bus arrived back to their home, they stepped out. Makki and Mattsun had gone home earlier, as had Iwaizumi and Kagyama and Hinata, leaving Oikawa to walk all the Makoshima children back to their home.

"Do you want to come in?" Naoko offered as her siblings disappeared into the house after taking their shoes off.

Oikawa shrugged. "Sure. We can put on a movie or something."

"Mm."

Oikawa entered the house and Naoko closed the door behind them with a click that sounded with some sort of finality.

* * *

**_A/N: *A spinoff or spiritual sequel, perhaps...? Hue..._ **


	49. Thread's End

_Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides._

_— Lao Tzu_

* * *

"I'm assuming that you'll want to watch an alien movie?" Naoko asked as she took off her jacket and hung it behind the laundry door. Sumire had probably gone upstairs to change into her sleepwear; same went for Tadashi.

"You know me so well, Mako-chan," Oikawa responded as he made himself comfortable on the family couch in the living room, where the television was in his direct line of vision. "Any recommendations?" He had seen pretty much every movie that was alien related, but it was only fair to give Naoko a turn.

Naoko shook her head. "We... actually don't have any alien movies. Tadashi and Sumire are the only ones that actually watch TV, so we'll have to pick something out from their collection. Tadashi is into kaiju movies and Sumire likes romance and drama."

"Do you have Pacific Rim?" Oikawa asked immediately.

She shrugged. "If it's got kaiju in it, then probably."

Sumire descended from the stairs, dressed in a pair of long, baggy sweatpants and a plain grey sweater. "Are we watching a movie?"

"Yep," Oikawa said, "Mako-chan is putting on Pacific Rim for us."

Though she never explicitly agreed to his suggestion, she hadn't exactly objected either. She was digging through a box with a few stacks of DVDs in it, looking for the one that Oikawa wanted.

"Pacific Rim?" Sumire echoed before throwing herself on the couch, curling up into a ball at Oikawa's right side. "Sounds good to me." Hinata was also relatively into kaijus as well as other behemoths like titans from the famed anime, and she had heard the movie name thrown about a few times by the boy. "This ought to be good..."

"It is," Oikawa affirmed, an excited, boyish grin on his face.

Tadashi arrived to join them next, dressed in a white cotton tee and checkered pants. "Naachan? Aren't you going to change too?"

"In a minute," Naoko answered. "Let me just find..." She pulled out a disc contained in an elaborate plastic sleeve. "Here it is." She gave the disc to Tadashi to start up the movie before she went upstairs to change. "Sumire, go see if we have any popcorn! If we do, make some."

"Okay, nee-chan!" Sumire got out of her spot beside Oikawa to do as her sister had ordered, leaving Tadashi and Oikawa in the room.

Awkwardly, Tadashi sat as far as he could from Oikawa at the furthest end of the couch after putting in the movie, taking the remote with him.

"Dashi-chan~" Oikawa snuck him a glance. "I never knew you liked kaiju."

Laughing sheepishly, Tadashi rubbed the back of his head. "Y-yeah, well, I do... mostly because of how much I love Ultraman."

Next to the sofa were a pile of gifts that Tadashi had received from his friends and family, still unopened. Feeling like he needed to distance himself from Oikawa, Tadashi reached over the arm of the couch and grabbed a random gift.

"Want to help me unwrap?" Tadashi asked Oikawa meekly.

He shrugged. "Sure." Oikawa peeled himself away from the couch and sat on the carpeted floor, near the presents. Grabbing one from the pile, he began to unwrap silently, Tadashi doing the same.

"I really am sorry, you know," Tadashi blurted, unable to maintain the quiet. "For everything."

Oikawa looked up at where he was sitting. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry you have to see me again. If you need me to do something to show how sorry I am—"

"Nah." Oikawa gave him a smirk, though it was more tired and weary than anything else. "I've already forgiven you. Besides..." He looked over to where Naoko had come down the stairs, entering the kitchen to check on Sumire. "If you never came back... I wouldn't have ever met her. So I guess some good came out of it."

Tadashi followed his gaze, his eyes widening in realization. "Naachan. The day I confessed and you said... She... she's the one that you have feelings for."

"Took you long enough," Oikawa said lightly. "Obliviousness really runs through your family, huh?"

Tadashi chuckled. "Well—"

Sumire and Naoko came back with the popcorn, the latter holding a large bowl of popcorn that would later be shared between all four of them.

"Oh, great," Sumire said, smiling. "You're opening the presents now. Have you opened mine yet?"

"I've opened Makki's only," Tadashi admitted. "He got me a new pair of volleyball shoes."

"Funny, because I opened Mattsun's," Oikawa chimed in. "He's a little more on the... artistic side... got you a few scented candles."

"Neat," Sumire said as she too started to open the gifts. On the television, the menu for Pacific Rim had opened, the cursor on the 'play' option. "So presents or movie first?"

"The rest can wait," Oikawa decided for Tadashi, getting up and plopping himself back in his original spot on the sofa. "Press play already!"

Tadashi did so just as Sumire squeezed between Tadashi and Oikawa, grinning broadly as she snuggled into both of them. Oikawa had to shift to the left a bit to accomodate her. At last, Naoko took the last spot at the end of the couch, on Oikawa's left. Had she been any bigger, she wouldn't have fit.

It was a bit of a squeeze, fitting all four of them on a single couch, but it was comfortable and warm.

The movie began to play.

It was already late when they had gotten back to the Makoshima home, and they had just spent the day having fun at an amusement park, so Tadashi and Sumire fell asleep halfway through the movie, Sumire's head resting on Oikawa's right shoulder and Tadashi having haphazardly propped his head on his palm, his elbow on the armrest.

"One of the main characters happens to be called Mako too," Oikawa commented quietly into Naoko's ear. "What a coincidence..."

"Mm," Naoko muttered, noncommittal. "I... don't understand why Tadashi likes this so much."

"Are you kidding? Have you seen the fight scenes? They're epic!"

"Keep your voice down," Naoko whispered, her eyes flicking to the sleeping Sumire and Tadashi. The former groaned slightly in her sleep before readjusting her position. "And, fine, I'll concede that, but... I still don't see the appeal."

"Maybe it's because you're a boring grandma," Oikawa teased before yawning, getting a little sleepy himself.

"Hah? Grandma?" She frowned at him. "How am I a grandma? I'm younger than you are, grandpa."

"Your way of thinking." Oikawa thought of the times where she had babied her siblings and yelled at Midori for not crossing the road safely. Yep, she was definitely an old soul. "You're ancient, Mako-chan, admit it."

Naoko gave him a frosty look. "Keep talking, I dare you. I'm in the perfect position to knee you in the balls."

"Ack! Resorting to physical violence now? I—" He felt something hard nearing his crotch and cringed. "Fine, fine! Don't be hasty now. I'll let you win this round." Oikawa coughed. "Grandma."

"Manwhore."

"For god's sake, not this again. Can't you go knit or something?"

"Don't you have some ladies to do unspeakable things to?"

"... I'm going to kill that brat." Oikawa crossed his arms huffily and pouted.

"Shouldn't you be getting home soon?" Naoko asked when the movie ended, the credits starting to roll. "Won't your parents be worried...?"

"My parents aren't home tonight. They're in Tokyo for some business meeting." He snorted. "Which isn't anything unusual."

"... I see." She paused. "Do you miss them?"

Oikawa leaned further back into the cushiony backrest, deliberating the answer. "I guess not. I'm used to them not being around. Hotaru basically raised me."

"Do they... hug you?" Naoko recalled the amount of times when Oikawa had been affectionate with her one way or another. "Kiss you?"

"Not really," Oikawa replied, staring impassively at the rolling credits. "Then again, I never did any of those things for my parents either."

"Then why do you insist on hugging and kissing me? If you've never received much outward affection from your parents? If you don't do the same to them?"

Oikawa gave her a long look. "Because I like you more than them."

Unwittingly, her face warmed. "Oh."

Just then, the phone rang, and Naoko heaved a sigh, not wanting to leave the warmth and comfort that Oikawa gave her. Muttering crossly under her breath, she got up and stalked into the kitchen, where the house phone was. "Hello?" she gruffly spoke into the receiver. Who the hell would be calling at this ungodly hour?

In the living room, Oikawa carefully positioned Sumire's head onto one of the cushions, so that she wouldn't have to keep using his shoulder as a headrest. She stirred only slightly before delving back into deep sleep. Oikawa breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that some people could be unbelievably grouchy when woken from a good nap. Iwaizumi was one of those people, after all, and if he and Sumire got along so well, Oikawa definitely wasn't taking any chances.

But his efforts were wasted when there was a clatter from the kitchen, waking Sumire with a start. Tadashi mumbled something before he returned to the land of the awake as well, looking around in mild confusion.

"Is the movie over yet?" he asked, bleary-eyed.

Sumire uttered something totally unintelligible in her drowsy state, which Oikawa accepted as something along the lines of "probably". Yawning, she sat up, her hair messed up on one side from lying down. "Geez, what time is it... Tooru-nii, why are you still here?"

"The movie ended about ten minutes ago," Oikawa explained, "Mako-chan and I were just talking. I'll be heading home soon."

"Mmkay..." She yawned again, obviously still tired, even after her impromptu nap. "Wait. Where's Naoko-nee?"

Suddenly, Naoko returned, her face grave and maybe looking a little terrified as well. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken. "Sumire, Tadashi, grab your jackets, we're going to the hospital."

Immediately, all of them startled and became more awake. The hospital was only about a ten minute walk from where they were, but why did they need to go?

Tadashi said as much, being not very fond of hospitals, and Naoko replied with a grimace.

"It's obaa-chan."

* * *

Makoshima Honoka was near death and she knew it. It was an odd feeling, knowing that death might befall her anytime. Yet, she still hung on.

Until the clock struck eleven eighteen, when she went into cardiac arrest.

Not a far distance away from the hospital, the door of the Makoshima house swung open with a loud slam, and the Makoshima children ran out of the door in their slippers, pyjamas, and hastily thrown on jackets. Oikawa was not far behind them, curious as to where they were going and what was happening to their grandmother.

Naoko hadn't said much, having only uttered a single word before they all made a mad rush to the door. Oikawa had considered staying behind at first, as this was a family affair, but dammit, he liked to consider himself as an honorary member of the family that he had come to care for.

The run to the hospital was frantic and hurried, and they ran across many roads without even looking left or right.

Naoko shouted a curse when a car screeched to a stop just inches before her. In frustration, she swore at the driver and kicked out at front fender before running off, Oikawa, Sumire, and Tadashi at her heels.

None of them looked back at the undoubtedly pissed off driver of the vehicle.

Sumire tripped on the hem of her baggy pants more than once. Lurching forward suddenly became a common occurrence with her, to the point that Oikawa wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms and carry her all the way to the damn hospital.

And Tadashi... he was pale to begin with but, somehow, his face had gotten even whiter during the past three minutes.

If they kept the pace, they would arrive in the next three minutes.

They did.

Three minutes later, they arrived.

Two minutes later, they were standing in front of the Makoshima matriarch's hospital room, room 1408, along with the nurse that Oikawa had seen the last time he'd been. Nakamura was it? Yes, Nakamura Aiko, though the name did not immediately connect with the face.

Sumire opened the door, her lip quivering and her heart racing. "O... Obaa-chan?"

The room was quiet.

Too quiet, Oikawa observed, lingering a few steps behind the siblings as they neared the doctors surrounding Makoshima Honoka. She had been in hospice care for the past few months.

This had been a long time coming.

The doctors stepped back, their faces impassive. Clinical.

"Obaa-chan!" Sumire cried, a strangled sob coming out with the words, her voice an octave higher than it normally would be. Slowly, as if she were afraid that her grandmother would crumble to dust if she moved too suddenly or quickly, she touched her arm, shaking it slightly. "Baba. Baba."

Naoko stood stock still and Tadashi took a huge gulp of air, his breathing coming out in shallow pants. Naoko gripped his hand tightly. For once, she wasn't focused on calming or soothing him.

And Oikawa...

He didn't belong here.

He knew that.

Yet he stayed.

In hindsight, Naoko knew that she would probably be grateful for his presence.

Sumire did not cease shaking her grandmother, trying to get her to wake up. "Baba. Baba. Baba, wake up. I'm here now."

Tadashi squeezed back. Naoko tensed at the sudden movement but did not protest, her eyes glued on the scene unfolding in front of her.

Bresthing quickly, Sumire turned around, regarding all of the doctors and Nakamura. "Why isn't she waking up?!" she demanded, her voice breaking. When they did not answer—they didn't _have_ an answer to give her—she went back to trying to nudge her grandmother awake. "Baba! Baba, it's me!"

Makoshima Honoka did not open her eyes.

"Baba, wake up!"

The professional edge that Nakamura had once had started to crumble away. Oikawa could see as much.

"BABA! BABA, WAKE UP!"

"Sumire," Naoko started before faltering. What could she possibly say? She clutched Tadashi's hand even tighter, her knuckles turning white.

Oikawa's heart broke in two when Sumire climbed onto the hospital bed and balled up next to her Baba.

It was time for the doctors to make their leave. They didn't belong here. Only Nakamura stayed behind.

Oikawa didn't belong here either.

Yet he stayed.

Tears steamed down Sumire's face as she pressed against her grandmother's side, her body quivering. She didn't dare leave her, for if she did, her Baba would be torn away from her forever.

Sumire made a high pitched whine, the noise broken and pitiful.

This was getting to be too much.

Feeling sick to the stomach, Oikawa left the room and planted his ass on one of the cushioned plastic chairs lining the walls. Somehow, knowing what was happening and waiting until Sumire finally got a clue made the bigger space even more suffocating than the little room he had just been in before.

Oikawa hunched forward, passing his fingers through his hair and twisting his brown locks around his digits.

Inside, Naoko could feel herself trembling. From what, she did not know.

What she did know, however, was that it was too late.

She was always too late.

"Oh god," Tadashi suddenly choked out, the words nearly stuck in his throat. Naoko didn't know when he had started crying. "Oh god." His eyes were wide and he frantically tried to wipe his tears away with the back of his hands as he watched with no small amount of horror his sister wailing beside a still corpse.

"Baba," Sumire started talking, barely coherent. "R-remember when you used to d-dance with me?" She took a deep breath, a wet sound sounding at the back of her throat as she gasped. "Y-you w-would let me... step on y-your feet. And then... then you'd guide m-me. And we'd dance a-around. My favorite spot was at t-the bottom of the stairwell." She clutched her Baba tightly, snaking her arms underneath her limp body.

Still warm.

"Naachan c-came to s-see you tonight. A-are you happy? Baba?"

"Sumire," Naoko said, her voice barely above a whisper, "that's enough."

Sumire didn't hear her.

"S-so c-can you p-please, _please_ , wake up so you c-can f-finally see her again? T-Tadashi-nii is h-here too..." She continued to hold her, as if her presence would somehow bring her back to life.

"Sumire," Naoko repeated, sounding desperate, feeling the back of her eyeballs sting with tears that hadn't been shed for years. "I said that's enough!"

"Baba!" Sumire shouted, her body wracking with every sob. "BABA, WAKE UP! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU, BABA! COME BACK! COME BACK!" She screamed into her Baba's shoulder. "... Please."

Naoko let go of Tadashi's hand as she became undone, her barrier broken as something wet began to slide down her face in the form of unwelcomed tears. Without even blinking, she lifted her hand and wiped them away.

Hopefully for good.

Tadashi was crying too, albeit more silently than Sumire as he tried and failed to suppress it.

Sumire continued to cry. She cried until her eyes became swollen, her face red, and her sides aching.

Naoko hated it when Tadashi and Sumire cried.

But this time, she didn't try to stop them.

"Sumire?" Nakamura said tentatively when Sumire fell silent. Naoko had almost forgotten that the nurse was also in the room. Gently, she touched her arm. "Sumire, please get up. I need you to get up now."

"Baba," Sumire whimpered, trying again. Why wasn't she waking up? Nakamura tried to hoist her up but Sumire flinched away. "You don't understand—you don't—that's—that's my Baba, Aiko, that's my Baba."

Naoko, having unfrozen herself from her spot, picked Sumire up with ease, sinking into the floor with her little sister as she continued to cry. She wrapped her arms around her, ignoring the clinical cold of the floor on her knees and shins. Almost wildly, Sumire grabbed at Naoko's jacket and used it to pull herself closer to her sister, sobbing into her chest.

"Sumire, hush," Naoko pleaded, fighting back her own tears. Now was not the time to show weakness. "Shhh... Sumire-chan..." _Please, you have to get a hold of yourself because I don't think I'm going to—_

A wider pair of arms wrapped around the sisters as Tadashi lowered himself to their level and embraced them tightly, rocking them back and forth.

Eventually, Sumire fell silent, having cried herself back to sleep. Tadashi let go then, allowing Naoko to pick up her sister like an infant.

"Nakamura-san," Naoko said as stoically as she could, "do you think we could get three beds here tonight?"

"Y-yes, of course," the nurse stuttered, struggling to stay strong. "I'm sure... considering the circumstances, that can be arranged."

"Thank you."

"Before I forget..." Nakamura gave her three folded pieces of paper she had been holding, the edges crinkled from how she had been holding them before. Naoko carried Sumire's weight with one arm and her body while using her free hand to receive the papers. "Makoshima-san wanted me to personally give you these."

"... What are they?"

"I don't know what's inside. But there's one for each of you."

Naoko looked down at the papers, painstakingly flipping them around to see their names written in kanji. Or it could have been katakana or hiragana—she was too gone tired to be sure. The characters—written in pencil—all looked the same after she stared at them for three minutes.

"Like I said. One for each of you."

So there was.

Tadashi and Sumire were asleep by midnight in their temporary beds in one of the unused rooms. The third bed remained empty of its owner. The letters Nakamura had given Naoko lay on a table, forgotten for the meantime.

Naoko wandered aimlessly down the hallways, ignoring the gazes she drew from multiple doctors and nurses. They mostly left her alone. They had seen that look in her eyes before. In the eyes of many others.

Her wandering was mostly a blur to her. Every single hallway looked the same, which was to be expected.

Naoko ceased her meandering, staring directly in front of her, where Oikawa Tooru was standing. He too had been walking, having halted when she did.

"Tooru." The name left her mouth before she even knew it.

Oikawa didn't say anything, letting Naoko close the distance between them and come to him.

"Mako-chan," he said softly. "Your obaa-chan..."

"Went into cardiac arrest about half an hour ago."

"... Are you okay?" She couldn't have been, but it needed to be asked. He prayed that she would not lie to him and say that she was fine. She wasn't fine. She couldn't be.

Naoko deliberated the question but, in the end, chose not to answer. So Oikawa guided her to the waiting room, which was unoccupied. It was the same one where he had waited for her during her surgery.

It seemed like almost a thousand years ago.

They both sat down in silence on a double-seater, one unsure of what to say, and the other unwilling to speak.

The latter broke first.

"I don't understand." Naoko cursed herself as tears began to flow down her face again, pooling at her chin and running down her neck, over her Adam's Apple and underneath her shirt collar.

Oikawa let her speak.

"For once, I was hoping for something to go right. Coming back to Miyagi... it was supposed to be a fresh start. And then everything happened this year and now..." She tilted her head upwards, glaring up at the blinding white lights on the ceiling. "I'm a coward, Tooru. I thought that there would be more time—but I knew—I knew that this was going to happen but I didn't do anything about it because I was—" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "A coward," she finished, sounding steadier than she had been before. "And I hate that."

Naoko gave him a sidelong glance, waiting for him to say something. Anything. Although she might not have minded if he chose to say nothing either.

"Naoko."

Her head snapped upward. Her name. He had used her name.

"What?" she said harshly. "Are you going to try and tell me that I'm not? I left my own grandmother for dead, didn't visit her for months since her hospitalization. I saw her as a burden more than anything else. If you have the nerve to even consider otherwise—"

Oikawa hugged her, cutting her off. "If you're a coward, I don't want to think about what that makes me."

Naoko stopped in her rant, stiff. "Don't be ridiculous—"

"Mako-chan. Shut up. We all make mistakes, and _you know that_. I know this sucks."

"But...?"

"You've probably heard this a million times, but it gets better. It always does."

She sniffled. For her, things didn't always get better. Sometimes they did, but something even worse seemed to happen later on in life. She could only guess that her waltz had more falls than rises. But right now... she just wanted to hear him say that it was okay, even if it was a lie.

"Tooru. Am I okay?"

"No," Oikawa answered honestly, hugging her even tighter. "But you will be."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'll make sure of it."

"... Thank you."

* * *

_Dearest Tadashi,_

_You've always been a brave and adventurous little boy. I hope that never changes. Your step-mother learned to love you in the end. I wish that she had loved you from the beginning, but, sometimes, there are things that need to be learned along the way. I'm sorry that you had to pay for her mistakes. I hope that, one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive her for her crimes._

_Don't ever let the world take away your smile. Keep laughing, keep smiling. I love you._

_And don't forget to look after your baby sisters. They're fierce, but you're still their protector. When you read this, I have passed, meaning that you will become the legal guardian of Sumi-kun and Naachan. Hopefully, you'll be twenty by then. Love them with all your heart, Tadashi, because I know you have a very big one._

_Love, obaa-chan_

* * *

_My Sumi-kun, I wish that we could have spent more time together. Don't tell your brother and sister but you've always been my favorite. Shh, it's a secret!_

_Sumi-kun, it's time for you to become your own person. Do not become burdened by feeling that you have the responsibility for the actions of your brother and sister. Do not continue to live in their shadow, because I know for a fact that you could become so much more than just another Makoshima._

_You're still young; you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it, Sumi-kun, because you will never get those years back._

_Don't be too sad about my passing. All I ever want for you is for you to be happy. Enjoy the moments in life, because, before you know it, those moments will become memories._

_Speaking of memories, you'd better not forget me either! I'll always be in your heart._

_Live, Sumi-kun, really live._

_I think you'll find that you'll quite enjoy it._

_Love, obaa-chan_

* * *

_Naachan, you've grown up far faster than I would have liked. When your parents died, you took on the unofficial responsibility of looking after your brother and sister, despite being a child yourself._

_I'm sorry that you had to carry that burden. You closed yourself off from everyone after that. Your family is important, but I don't want you to miss out on the other good things that life has to offer._

_Naachan, don't be afraid to open up to people. I know that you're afraid that they'll hurt you if you let them in, but some things are always worth the risk._

_I'm sorry that none of you could trust me enough to tell me what you've really been through. You've been hurt. I wish you could have let me in._

_But that's in the past, and I want you to look toward the future instead. Make friends, live happily and healthily. Stop being afraid, because you're one of the bravest people I know. Don't be afraid of your own emotions. You're human too. It's okay not to be okay._

_Don't let the anger and hate fester inside you either. I know it's hard, but leaving those feelings behind will make the heart so much lighter than you could ever begin to imagine._

_Work hard, but not too hard, okay?_

_I love you._

_Obaa-chan_

* * *

Makoshima Honoka passed away at 11:32PM on Saturday, November 18th.

* * *

**_A/N: . . . If this is bad it's because it's literally 1:30am as I write this._ **


	50. Wings of Healing

_The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love._

_— Hubert H. Humphrey_

* * *

Monday morning found Naoko sitting on the living room floor. Dawn had just arrived; Sumire and Tadashi hadn't gotten out of bed for school yet. The latter had chosen to skip morning volleyball practice in favor of getting some more sleep.

Honestly, Naoko didn't blame him.

And Sumire...

Naoko sighed, propping her chin on her palm and turning her gaze on the pictures surrounding her in a perfect ring.

Mizushima's pictures.

To the side were a few empty picture frames that Naoko had scrounged up from the store room.

Tadashi had finished unwrapping his gifts with far less zeal last night. He had hardly even given the presents a second glance, not even the Ultraman figure. She had to give him time. It wasn't like he didn't care or appreciate them.

He was merely grieving.

They all were.

But hers was perhaps the most odd way of doing it. Silently, she set on with her task, placing each and every photo into a frame. She did it slowly, as if she didn't want it to end because then she'd have nothing else to do until school.

When she finished, she looked around the living room, finding a cabinet with lots of space on the surface top. Naoko got up and started arranging the pictures.

She paused at the last picture, staring at it. It was her and Oikawa, laughing and smiling their lives away on the roller coaster. The one that Mizushima had deemed her best shot yet.

In the end, she placed it at the front, beside the group photo of her, Sumire, Tadashi, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Makki and Mattsun, and Hinata and Kageyama. Naoko gave a small smile, satisfied at her work.

Naoko forced her feet to move to the kitchen, where she resolved to make a good breakfast for her family. No more cheap cereals and milk or energy bars. Hello bacon, eggs, and sausages.

It wasn't really the nutrition that Naoko was looking at when she decided that she wanted make the breakfast for her family. Goodness knows that eggs, sausages, and bacon were just as unhealthy as cereal, milk and energy bars if not worse.

What she wanted for her family... was the love, care, dedication and wholesomeness that came with such a meal.

When she finished frying the egg and cooking the sausages, she put the bacon on the pan just as Sumire and Tadashi had come down at the same time.

Neither of them were dressed in their uniforms. Sumire was holding that stuffed whale Kageyama had gotten her on the day of the Sendai Standoff and her hair hadn't been combed yet, a few strands sticking out here and there.

Tadashi, though he held no plush animal, looked like a taller, male, and blonde version of his sister, with his hair just as mussed and his sleeping shirt crooked and unbuttoned near the bottom from tossing and turning during his rest.

"Good morning," Naoko greeted quietly as she placed two strips of bacon on their plates, including hers. She wondered why they weren't in uniform but who was she to judged? She too was still dressed in her pyjamas.

"Morning," Tadashi returned, sounding weary despite the extra hours of sleep he had gotten.

"... Morning," Sumire murmured. She perked up slightly. "What's that smell...?"

"Bacon, eggs, and sausages," Naoko replied, picking up all three plates at once by balancing one on her forearm and setting them on the dining table. "Eat hearty."

Sumire's eyes widened at the breakfast. "Th-thanks. It's nice not having cereal for a change." She went over to the fridge for her daily energy drink but Naoko stopped her.

"None of that," she said firmly, giving her a glass of orange juice. "Drink this instead."

"Huh? Okay. Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes. En... enjoy."

Their mother used to make freshly squeezed orange juice all the time. Sumire hadn't even known that they were still in possession of the juicer.

Sumire sat down in front of a plate and sipped her juice. "Wow... this is good."

Naoko gave her a short nod before she set down a glass of juice in front of Tadashi, who was staring at his plate. When the cup hit the table, he looked up.

Naoko sat down last, orange juice in her hand. She took a sip before putting it down on the table.

"Thanks for the food," they all said at once before digging in. As they ate, Naoko couldn't help but noticed that they no longer looked so tired or... unhappy.

"This is amazing, nee-chan!" Sumire exclaimed as she tore into her bacon, stabbing a cut of sausage, egg, and bacon on her fork. She even cracked a smile. Naoko hadn't seen her smile since that night. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Naoko answered, eating her own food. "Just... having a good breakfast is nice once in a while, right?"

Tadashi nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. Thank you, Naachan. For... everything."

"... Don't think anything of it. Please." Naoko quickly changed the subject, "I take it you're not going to school today?"

Again, they shook their heads.

"I'm not feeling up to it today," Sumire said.

"Me neither," added Tadashi.

Naoko hummed in contemplation, twirling her fork on a slice of bacon. "Hey."

Sumire and Tadashi exchanged a glance. Would she scold them for not going to school? Tell them to suck it up and get an education? They braced themselves.

"Do you want to go to the aquarium?" Naoko suggested casually, chugging down the rest of her orange juice.

"Are... are you serious, nee-chan?" Sumire asked. "If this is... if this is about obaa-chan, then—"

"It's not that," Naoko interrupted, her voice strained. "I... want to."

"What about school?" Tadashi inquired.

"I'm sure one day wouldn't hurt. When was the last time we went on a family outing anyway?"

Neither Tadashi not Sumire answered. They couldn't remember.

At last, Sumire smiled again. "Okay. Let's go!"

"I want to see the jellyfish," Tadashi told them. "A-and the stingrays!"

Naoko laughed. "Don't worry, Tadashi-nii, we can go and see them all."

* * *

"Where's Naoko?" Anzu asked when she sat down at her usual table with the drama club members and Akane. "I thought nerds didn't like to skip school."

"We don't know," Ayame answered, shrugging. "She never showed up to morning meetings. Or morning assembly."

Anzu grinned to herself like the cat that had just ate the canary. Now that the cave woman wasn't here, it was the perfect time to sink her claws into her prey—er, Oikawa. But then she faltered. Did she really want to do that? Muttering to herself, she relaxed, showing no signs of getting up over to Oikawa's table to flirt with him.

"Naoko-kins is not here today for a very personal reason," Akane said airily.

Midori pounced. "Really? What?"

"What part of personal did you not understand?" Leiko said dryly.

Akane shrugged at Midori's queries. "That, I do not know."

"Do you think she's okay?" Katsumi wondered.

"Probably," Toshio answered. "For all we know, she dragged her brother to the aquarium or something."

At that moment, Haruka plopped herself into her seat, looking tired but also excited. "I have everything worked out now," she informed them. "The Christmas party is going to be a blast! We can start decorating in two weeks!"

"Whoa, no need to shout," Midori joked, grinning at the usually soft spoken girl. "I'm glad you're really settling into your position! You're a great president!"

Haruka blushed at the compliment. "Thanks...!"

"So, Anzu-kins," Akane said to her best friend. "Are you still going to pursue Oikawa's affection?"

Of course! Anzu wanted to say. She'd been after him since their first year of high school together. He was the perfect prince, the man of every girl's dreams! How could she stop trying to win him over?

But at Akane's big, honest eyes, Anzu cringed, the answer suddenly unclear. "I don't care," Anzu sniffed. "I have better things to do." Wow, had she really just said that?

"Does that mean you'll leave Naoko alone now?" Ayame asked.

"Heck no! Naoko made her stance clear—she's now my rival!"

Everyone sweatdropped. Rival?

At everyone's disbelieving expressions, Anzu grumbled and corrected herself, "Fine, frenemy. Happy?"

Akane patted her on the back. "You've come far, Anzu-kins."

"Sh-shut up! This is all your fault!"

Akane merely smiled. "I know."

* * *

"I still can't believe he got me scented candles!" Tadashi laughed as he picked up said candles.

"I have to say, he has good taste," Sumire said as she read the fancy names of the candles. "I mean, _Eternal Blooming Wildflower?_ "

They were currently going through the gifts that Tadashi had received while Naoko whipped up some supper in the kitchen. They had gotten back from the aquarium not long ago; Naoko had practically had to drag Tadashi away from his precious jellyfish and stingrays.

"An electric toothbrush?" Tadashi said, examining said toothbrush. "Floss? And toothpaste...? Wait, who are these from again?"

"Kageyama," Sumire instantly replied, grinning at her boyfriend's presents. "His mom is a dentist and she insisted. He also got you some knee pads."

"Oh! I thought those were from Hinata."

"Nah, he got you the finger tape and the box of biscuits."

"Right." Tadashi smiled faintly. "All these presents... they're amazing." His favorite had to be the Ultraman action figure that Naoko had given him. Heck, he was holding it in one hand right now.

"I know. We're really lucky. Maybe not as lucky as some others but..." Sumire shook her head. "I guess Fate just dealt us a bad hand. No point in being sad about it." She bit her lip, her eyes watering slightly. "I still miss her. I miss her so much." Nothing lasts forever. She knew that. So why did it still hurt so much? _Because I love her as much as it hurts._

"I know," was all Tadashi could say as his face fell. "I miss her too." It hadn't been hard to tell that Sumire had been their grandmother's favorite out of the three, and she had been hit the hardest by her death. "Sumire-chan, obaa-chan may not be here anymore, but you still have us."

Sumire nodded. "Mmhm... I know that we'll always have each other's backs."

"You'll have Kageyama-san to watch your back as well," Tadashi pointed out, smiling again.

She could almost hear Kageyama sneeze and mutter curses attached to her name. She giggled. "Yeah."

"Kids! Dinner!" Naoko called teasingly from the kitchen. Somehow, after their grandmother's death, she had opened up and lightened up a bit more. Sumire and Tadashi couldn't help but wonder what her letter had said.

"Coming, _kaa-chan_ ," Sumire countered, getting up and curling her toes in her socks.

The smell of western style spaghetti wafted in the air as they entered the kitchen, Tadashi still clutching his Ultraman action figure.

With her cooking mittens on her hands, Naoko set a huge plate of spaghetti into the middle of the table for them to take from and out onto their own plates. She then sat down and they all chorused, "Thanks for the food!"

Naoko noticed the figure that Tadashi had placed next to his plate, the thing comically looking like it was watching over Tadashi's dinner. She smiled softly.

Some things would never change.

"Ack! Naoko, Tadashi stole my meatball!"

"Ehh?! I-I didn't!"

"Bro, I literally saw you do it!"

"I did not...!"

"Nee-chan, Tadashi-nii is picking on me!"

"Both of you shut up or there'll be no dessert."

They clamped up.

Then they all laughed, a joyous sound.

 _No_ , Naoko amended, _somewhere along the way, something did change_. Oikawa's obnoxious face flashed through her mind for one brief moment. _Are you responsible for it... Tooru?_

* * *

**_A/N: Yes, I know this chapter is short but I need to time skip so I just ended it there. Time heals all wounds. Naoko has changed. Now she's trying to focus on healing her family and they're all trying to change for the better._ **

**_They have flaws. Every single one of them has flaws. I think the last chapter and maybe this one has called some of those flaws to attention._ **

 


	51. Nearly That Time Of Year Again

_Christmas makes me happy no matter what time of year it comes around._

_— Bryan White_

* * *

The members of the Student Council had many responsibilities that came with their positions. They served as hallway monitors, student leaders, and organizers or co-organizers for important school events.

As Student President, Fujikawa Haruka often felt that she had double the responsibility at times. Everybody looked up to her as a leader and she often freaked out about her duties to Toshio in private. The class representative had been a great help, especially with the annual Christmas party planning.

Thanks to everyone's combined efforts, the planning for the party was going smoothly.

"Tomorrow's the day!" Haruka said cheerfully as she and Toshio walked down the corridor and out of the school gates. She had opened up significantly to her new friends, and was no longer stuttering or blushing around them as much.

"Actually," Toshio corrected with a sweatdrop, "tomorrow's Saturday... which means you're going to have to wait until Monday since we don't have school on the weekend. Obviously."

"Oh." Haruka deflated slightly before peeking up again. "Oh well, that's okay! I just can't wait. I already have four classes signed up to help with the decorating. That's more than enough people."

She had been pleased to know that that most of her friends were in those classes, including Naoko (she and Haruka were in the same class, actually!), Akane, Anzu, Leiko, and Toshio.

As they walked out of the school gates and went their separate ways, Haruka smiled to herself, her cheeks a rosy pink from the cold. It was snowing lightly and the streets were covered with snow from earlier nights with heavier snowfall.

It was beautiful. A winter wonderland, one could say. Haruka almost wanted to flop onto the ground and make a snow angel. But such things were expected of children, not teenagers in their second year of high school.

"Hey, Haru-chan!" a familiar voice called, and Haruka turned to see Naoko and Anzu walking up toward her, both of them wearing scarves and earmuffs to protect themselves from the chill.

Naoko and Anzu had grown more tolerant of each other. The first year Akane had rubbed off significantly on Anzu, and the latter was no longer so insufferable, even choosing to stop pursuing Oikawa's affections. She often complained that "it's all Akane's fault", but everybody knew that there was no real malice in the comment and she was merely putting up a front. Well, she hadn't changed completely. People just tolerated her more.

Almost everyone was pleased to report that Naoko had started opening up and warming up to her friends as well. She wasn't as hard to approach as she had been when she had first transferred to Aobajosai in June.

"We're heading downtown for a bite to eat," Naoko informed Haruka. Her voice was still relatively cool and toneless, but Haruka had been around her enough to notice the dash of color that was now present in her manner of speaking.

"It's my uncle's restaurant," Anzu added rather snobbishly, smirking, "so we can all eat for free. See? This is just one of the many benefits there are when you're friends with me!"

"The cons outweigh the benefits," Naoko said rather bluntly, giving the red-haired third year a sideways glance.

"Shut up, cave lady! At least  _I_ have class!"

"Sure, I'll come," Haruka agreed, smiling. "But don't you have work, Naachan?" Every time Naoko was invited out after school, she was always decline politely, saying that she had work. She wasn't lying; they had come to visit her at the maid cafe she worked in a few times. Personally, Haruka thought the butler uniform Naoko wore was very stylish and professional.

Naoko shook her head, looking more solemn than she had been before. She was like that sometimes—she just withdrew into herself a bit. But she answered anyway, "Umeko-san's grandfather is ill and she went back to Iwanuma to look after him until another family member becomes available. She said she would be back late February next year at the latest, so the shop likely won't be open until then."

"Oh, that's terrible," Haruka murmured, and even Anzu looked vaguely sympathetic. "So close to Christmas as well."

"I thought you'd be more bothered," Anzu remarked, raising an eyebrow. "You've gotten really chill lately..."

"I am bothered," Naoko admitted, brushing her hair back slightly. "Just not as much as I thought I would've been. Anyway, since I'm only working one day a week now, I have more time to spend with my family and... friends."

"Why do I sense that you were going to say Oikawa?" Anzu snorted, rolling her eyes.

Naoko gave her a confused look. "I wasn't. He is my friend, but he's not the only one."

"That's not what I meant! You're so totally oblivious to even your own feelings... geez."

 _No_ , Naoko corrected silently, _I'm not. Tooru... I know he means something more to me than just friends_. Outwardly, she didn't say anything, only shrugged, much to Anzu's vexation. _Family, perhaps?_ No, not even that, though Sumire and Tadashi were quite fond of the brunet setter and treated him like the older/younger brother they'd never had.

The walk to downtown was quick, and the three girls soon found themselves strolling down the main street, passing by multiple shops on either side. The train station wasn't too far away either, and Naoko could see the big tower attached to said station from where they currently were.

"Where's the restaurant?" Naoko asked, recognising Maple Gallery—the place where Oikawa had taken her out for lunch on their date—sitting around the corner, the cinema also nearby somewhere.

"Over here," Anzu directed, leading them away from Maple Gallery. Finally, they arrived at a rather fancy looking family restaurant. Anzu smirked proudly, imagining her friends' faces to be akin to that of awe.

"Nice place," Naoko said flatly.

"Gah! Is that all you have to say?!" Anzu glared back at Naoko. "Ugh, whatever, not like I was expecting much..."

"I think it's lovely," Haruka complimented with a smile akin to gentle sunshine on her face.

" _Thank_ you! At least someone has manners..." Anzu snuck a look at Naoko, who looked like she couldn't really care less.

The girls, save Anzu, came to discover that the interior of the restaurant was as beautiful in the inside as it was on the outside, and much, much warmer. Naoko let out a small, relieved sigh as she undid her scarf and removed her earmuffs, her friends doing the same (only Haruka had a simple woollen scarf to remove and no headgear).

"Just three hot cocoas and a basket of southern fried potato slices to share, thank you," Anzu said to the waiter when they sat down in a booth.

"Very well, Anzu-hime," the waiter replied, nodding and writing down the orders before leaving to fulfil them.

Naoko scoffed at Anzu's pleased expression. "Anzu-hime?" she parroted, sounding more than a little condescending. "Now I feel like I forgot to take off your coat for you or something."

"Ha, ha, real funny."

Their basket of potato slices and their hot cocoas had just arrived when a familiar voice wafted through the air. "Hey, is that Mako-sensei? Mako-sensei, over here!" Oikawa Hotaru grinned as she made her way their booth, oblivious to the scrunched up face that Anzu was giving her, probably mistaking her for some commoner, as she liked to say. "Hi, Mako-sensei! How have you been?"

"Hotaru-san," Naoko said in lieu of greeting. "I've been fine, thank you." In fact, things were better than they had been before. Somehow. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard the hot cocoa here is worth a shot, so here I am. I brought Tooru with me too!"

"Eh? Tooru's here?" At that moment, Oikawa chose to saunter toward them, an amused smile on his face. He had been following a few steps behind his sister and had took his time to observe Hotaru run over to their booth like a madwoman.

"Obviously," he said teasingly, sitting down next to her. "It's good to see you again, Mako-chan."

Naoko's lips quirked upward in a small smile. "Likewise... dumb chihuahua."

"How mature of you, oyster-chan."

"Um, excuse me!" Anzu practically shouted, glaring. "I didn't bring you here for a canoodling session, Naoko."

"Canoodling?" Haruka muttered, blinking in confusion. What kind of word was that?

"Ah, my baby brother is abandoning me for lady friends," Hotaru said with a melodramatic sigh. She shot him a foxy grin. "Play nice, Tooru. I have to pick up Takeru anyway, so I'll take my cocoa on the go. Don't forget to use protection~" With that, she flounced off to the counter to collect her hot beverage before leaving the restaurant, the bell above the door jingling as she exited.

"Looks like your stuck with me," Oikawa stated, looking rather pleased. "You don't mind do you, Haru-chan; Anzu-chan?"

"Not at all," Haruka said kindly.

"Whatever," sniffed Anzu. _Chee... what did I ever see in him anyway? Akane is so much prettier—_

Wait.

What.

As Anzu grew extremely pale, Oikawa was making conversation easily with the other two girls.

"How has being president been for you, Haru-chan?"

"Oh, wonderful. It can get a bit stressful at times, but I always have Toshio to help me out. He and Leiko have been surprisingly supportive."

"I'm glad to hear. We're decorating on Monday, right?"

"Why, yes." Haruka's eyes widened slightly when she thought of something. "Does that mean you're in one of the four classes that signed up?"

"He's in Toshio's class," Naoko recalled, nodding slowly. "My brother will be helping out too."

"Haha! I'm so glad that pretty much all our friends are going to be there!" Haruka exclaimed.

Friends. That word warmed Naoko's heart. _These people... they aren't just acquaintances... they're my friends._

"Oyster-chan, you're doing that weird spacing out thing again." Oikawa's voice burst into her mind and she startled. He poked her forehead and she shook her head before glaring at him.

"I was just thinking."

"Uh huh..." He shot her a knowing look, smirking. "In case you weren't listening—and I know you weren't—Haru-chan was saying something about visiting the local shrine."

"I think they're doing that wish thing this year," Anzu said, tapping her chin before she took a sip of cocoa. "The one where you write your wish onto a wooden tag and hang it up..." For some reason, her face was almost as red as her hair. Naoko was curious as to what she had been thinking about but didn't press the matter.

"We should go," Oikawa said, his eyes lighting up with a scheming gleam. "I have a wish I want to make."

"Ayame works there, actually," Haruka piped up again, "As a shrine maiden. Her shift started not long ago so we should be able to see her there. She might even be helping out with the wishing tags."

So it was decided. After finishing their hot cocoas and the basket of potato slices, they all exited the restaurant together, Haruka and Anzu walking in front while Oikawa and Naoko followed a step behind.

"So, Mako-chan," Oikawa said conversationally, "how have you been? After your obaa-chan..." he trailed off, giving her an apologetic look.

"Actually?" If Naoko was bothered by the reminder of her late grandmother, she didn't show it. Then again, she didn't show a lot of emotion to begin with. It was only during the past two weeks that she really began to open up a lot more. "Things have gotten better. So you were right about that."

"Of course I was." He smirked infuriatingly, but Naoko didn't mind. She was glad that he'd been right. "I'm here for you, Mako-chan. I'm not going to leave you." _Ever. I swear._

"How can you be so sure?"

Oikawa chuckled. "Because I don't want to be a bastard to you." _I've already been enough of one._

Naoko gave a noncommittal grunt, burying her face further into her war, scarf. "Thanks, I guess. But you shouldn't say things you don't mean."

Oikawa blinked, bemused and maybe a little hurt. But mostly bemused. "What makes you think I don't mean it?"

She paused, deliberating the answer. Then, "Because nobody ever does."

He stopped in his tracks, causing Naoko to stop as well and turn around. Anzu and Haruka still hadn't looked back and were still walking toward the shrine at a slow pace.

They kept standing still and staring at one another as the sun set in the horizon, early because of winter.

Then Oikawa held his arms apart as if he were waiting for something. Slightly uncertain, though they had done this many times, Naoko closed the distance between them she in an embrace, the body heat he was emitting a welcomed feeling. She buried her face into his woollen beige uniform vest, feeling his arms loop around her waist and back as she provided him the same treatment.

"I mean it." She could feel his chest rumble as he spoke. She could see in the appeal in hugging. It was nice.

"How do I know that?"

"You don't."

"Then how do I trust you?"

"I don't know," Oikawa admitted, a pink tinge on his cheeks from the biting frost. "Do you trust me though?" _Please say yes! Pleasseeeee—_

"... Yes."

He smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Then that's all there is to it." _Yes! She said yes!_

"Is it really that simple?" she asked when they had released one another and caught up to her friends.

"Not for everyone. I guess it just depends on the person," Oikawa replied after mulling over the question.

"Mm."

"Hurry up, you two!" Anzu called from the front, she and Haruka having picked up the pace when the shrine came into view.

"We're coming!" Naoko returned, grabbing Oikawa's hand and intertwining their fingers. She really should have worn gloves today, but then she wouldn't have been able to do this. Then she pulled him along.

"Well, someone's eager," he remarked teasingly. He couldn't help but notice how she had reversed their roles. It was usually him who initiated physical contact between them—it was usually him who dragged her along. _How the tables have turned_. But he didn't mind.

"I haven't been to the shrine since I was a child," Naoko confided as they moved into a small jog to catch up with Haruka and Anzu.

"Why not?"

Naoko didn't answer—they had caught up with their friends.

"Ayame should be somewhere around here," Haruka was saying, trying to peer over the heads of strangers. "Ah! Over there!"

There were three tables pushed together and a sizeable amount of people queuing up to receive wooden tags from the three shrine maidens behind the tables. Ayame was undoubtedly the youngest one there, the other two girls looking like they were in college.

"Ayame," Haruka greeted when they made it to the front of the line.

"Hey, guys!" Ayame returned with a big smile. "What's up? How many tags? Four?"

"Four will do," Naoko said.

"Cool. I'll talk to you later when my shift's over."

They all took their tags and Ayame gave them a permenant marker to share between the four of them.

Anzu and Haruka went first, followed by Naoko and Oikawa, the former separating themselves from the latter to hang their tags up.

"Mako-chaaan," Oikawa whined, "it's been two minutes and you've only written one character!"

"Shut up, dumb chihuahua, I'm thinking!"

"Well, think faster!"

"Your voice is messing with my head!"

Grinning sneakily, Oikawa lowered his mouth to her ear. "Is this better?" he all but purred, making her stiffen.

"Hardly. In fact, I think I just had an aneurysm from your failed attempt to sound sultry. Give me another five minutes."

"Oh, come on!" He smirked. "You don't have to kid me, you know, I know you enjoyed that."

"Sure," she said monotonously, writing down the rest of her wish before passing the pen to him. "Happy?"

"Very." He quickly scrawled down his wish, and Naoko gave his penmanship an unimpressed stare.

"Your handwriting is terrible."

"Hey!" Oikawa pouted. "It's not easy writing on something so small, you know. I write much neater on paper."

Just to rub salt in the wounds, Naoko showed him her own wish, her writing neat and clear on her tag.

"... Now that was just rude."

"I know."

"By the way, what's up with that wish? One year supply of Hamburg steak?"

They both hung their tags on the hanging tree, jostling other people out of the way to do so.

"At least mine isn't 'I wish Iwa-chan will go alien hunting with me like old times'."

"Again. Rude." Oikawa sighed in mock hurt. "What do I even see in you?" When he realized what he had just said, he inwardly berated himself, though he kept his cool in the face of Naoko.

"I don't know," she responded coolly. "I guess I'm just that amazing."

Oikawa stared at her, ignoring the people who were telling them to move out of the way so that they could hang their own wooden tags. "Did... you just make a joke?"

"Don't sound so surprised." They weaved their way out of the crowd. To the side, Ayame, Anzu, and Haruka were talking to each other, Ayame having been temporarily relieved from her shift by another maiden.

"Can't help it," he stated, giving her a sideways glance. Oikawa smiled and Naoko's face reddened slightly. "But I like it when you surprise me."

* * *

"My sister just texted me," Sumire said, glancing down at her phone. She and Kageyama were currently sitting in Kagoshima Ramen Place, both of them enjoying a bowl of hot ramen, the perfect remedy to the wintry chill. "There's going to be a Christmas party at Aobajosai for the whole school and they're decorating on Monday after school. You wanna come?"

Ever since her grandmother had passed and Kageyama had come to know of it, he'd treated her a bit more gentler than he normally did. But, after a week, it was back to borderline abusive verbal and physical sparring between the two. And, in a way, Sumire was thankful for that. Normal people would probably shake their heads at their relationship, but it was just how they comfortably communicated.

"No thanks," he answered after a moment of deliberation. "I have to practice; we all do. Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," Sumire dismissed his apology. "I get it. Decorating probably sounds pretty boring, but I'm going to go and help."

"You should come practice with us," Kageyama told her, sounding a bit more eager. "Your sets have improved a lot, and Noya's been helping you with your receiving, right? You should come! Then you can further improve—"

Sumire snickered. "Is there anything else you think about besides volleyball?"

"Yes." She was caught off guard by his immediate answer.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You."

They both stared at each other, Kageyama looking deadly serious and Sumire's eyes widened in surprise.

"That..." Sumire started. Then she threw a balled up used tissue at him. "Was so cheesy! Idiot!"

He shouted before throwing the tissue back at her. "Twig! Runt! You're not romantic at all!"

"Like you can talk! You're dense as a brick!"

"So are you!" Kageyama grumbled under his breath. "I never should have listened to that midget..."

"Wait, are you talking about Hinata?" Sumire leaned closer, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh my god, you were. You went to _him_ for love advice?!"

"Sh-shut up!" He threw another tissue at her, making her cry out. "You should be glad that I even bothered to ask that shrimp!"

Sumire couldn't help but guffaw. "Tobio, I'm pretty sure even Tanaka-san can offer better advice than Hinata."

He gave her a dry look. "Are you forgetting that this is the same guy who put strawberry condoms in my locker?"

Sumire paled. "I thought we agreed never to speak of that again."

Kageyama grimaced. "Shit, you're right."

"Dumbass."

"Stop talking to yourself, twig."

"Shut up, you... you stick!"

"Hah?!"

"If I'm a twig, you're a stick!"

"How does that work?"

"It just does!" Sumire puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "For real though, from here on out, no more mentions of the condoms."

"Deal."

Kageyama didn't tell her that he still had those condoms shoved somewhere deep, deep inside his clothes drawer.

* * *

**_A/N: O.O_ **

**_Welp, Christmas has almost arrived, and everybody is (kinda) getting in the holiday mood._ **

**_Also, if anyone's concerned, Sumire and Kags won't be getting it on anytime soon. It was just a perverted joke._ **

**_A side note... I am currently sick. So *cough* yeah._ **


	52. 'Tis The Season For Decoration

_... When you propose, do it at that old cherry blossom tree she loves so much._

_— Sumire Makoshima to Tooru Oikawa_

* * *

"I summon... enraged battle ox!" With great flair, Midori pointed her finger at Anzu, who had bent down to pick up a box of tinsel.

Anzu scowled at her. "Yeah, that's not funny. Stupid otaku. Yu-Gi-Oh? More like Yu-Gi-No..."

Under the supervision of the Student Council and a few staff members (three, actually), the four classes that had volunteered to help decorate the auditorium for the upcoming annual Christmas party were working hard to do exactly that.

At first glance, it was just another mundane activity like clean up duty, but the students were really having fun completing the task, more often than not messing around. But that was okay—if they fooled around too much, nothing would get done and they didn't want that. So they could be trusted to be responsible. Today, they were starting with the wall and window decorations.

"Wait a second," Midori said, narrowing her eyes as she went into what she liked to call 'Detective Mode'. "How would you know that it came from Yu-Gi-Oh?"

"I-I," Anzu stammered before setting her face in yet another scowl. "Shut up." Truth be told, she only knew about it when she had gone over to Akane's house on the weekend and watched Akane's little brother watch the show on television.

"How's everything going?" Naoko asked as she went up to Haruka, who was holding a clipboard in her arms. Naoko's hair was tied up in a messy bun piled at the top of her head.

"We're nearly done with the window decorations," Haruka informed her, pleased with the progress they were making. "And we're about halfway done with wall decorations. At this rate, we'll be done with today's workload before sunset. We just need to put the snowmen, the ribbons, and the candy canes up. Actually, could you fetch the box with the snowmen from the storeroom please? I don't think anyone's gotten it out yet."

Naoko nodded. "Got it." Everything for the Christmas party was kept in one of the storage rooms connected to the auditorium, so it was really no trouble.

"Nee-chan," Sumire called to her. "Could you help with this please?" She held up a ribbon. "It belongs on the top of the window pane and I _just_ can't reach it..."

Naoko started to move toward where her sister was struggling but Oikawa beat her to it.

"No need, Mako-chan," he said as he swept by her, taking the ribbon decoration from Sumire and easily placing it where it belonged. "Anything else?" As Sumire began to list off the things she had been assigned with, Oikawa flashed a smile at Naoko, who gave a small nod before continuing on her journey to the storeroom.

"You're so stupidly tall," Sumire complained, pointing a finger at Oikawa. Had they not been close, it would have been considered very rude. "Seriously. It should be illegal to be that tall."

"Oh, you hurt me so," Oikawa said, putting a hand over his heart. "Jealousy is unbecoming, you know, Sumire-chan." He ruffled her hair in a brotherly manner and she stuck her tongue out at him, displaying her immature side—a sight not often seen by people outside her interaction circle.

"Pfft, you and Tobio are the same."

"Oi," Oikawa huffed, "we are not! For one, Tobio-chan is an irritating, bratty king who, unlike Mako-chan, doesn't make being emotionally stunted cute."

Sumire snorted. "Funny how a conversation about Tobio somehow links back to my sister." She gave him a suspicious glare. "You got a thing for her, or something?" The youngest Makoshima looked over to the other side of the hall, where Naoko and a few classmates were putting up the cardboard and plastic snowmen decoratives. "Something tells me that you do..."

"Alright, you got me." Oikawa rolled his eyes. "At least you're not as dense as your brother and sister."

Sumire raised an eyebrow. "That was easier than I expected. Have you told her how you feel yet?"

"Heck no." Oikawa put up some more ribbons in the higher places. "Honestly, Sumire-chan, confessing has never been this hard for me before. If I like a girl, I'll tell her. It's simple."

"But...? What's so different about my sister?"

"I think I love her," Oikawa stated simply, turning to face Sumire rather than the snowy window. "And I don't want to screw up." Honestly, it was a complete and utter miracle that he hadn't already.

"Whoa... that's a pretty big claim." Even she and Kageyama hadn't gotten to the 'love' stage yet—it was still just casual but still kind of serious dating, which was normal enough. But to love... "Do you want to marry her?"

"Yes," he breathed out, "I do." He chuckled. "But it's a little early for marriage, don't you think?"

Sumire shot him a withering glance. "I would hope so."

"Since when are you the overprotective type?"

"I'm not," Sumire corrected, "but she's still family. She's still my sister. And I care about her. Naoko-nee... she means the world to me. And she's not the only one." Her eyes clouded over. "Especially now that obaa-chan isn't here anymore... she's one of the only family I have left."

"I understand."

"No, you don't."

"Fine, I lied. I know. Dick move." Oikawa sighed. "Sumire-chan, I'll take care of her. I'm serious when I say that I love her—I know I haven't exactly got the best track record with women—"

"From what Iwaizumi has told me, you're a conceited womanizer."

Oikawa pouted. "Well, first of all, Iwa-chan shouldn't be going off telling people that kind of stuff!"

"He was probably just warning me."

"No offence, Sumire-chan, but I don't like you that way. Plus, you're too young."

Sumire crossed her arms and scowled. "You know perfectly well that's not what I meant! And answer the question. I want you to be serious."

"Fine." Oikawa straightened. "Sumire-chan, I swear on my life—hell, _Iwa-chan's_ life—that I love your sister. I'll treat her well, I'll look after her, and, one day, I'm going to marry her."

Sumire stared at him, her eyes calculating. "... When you propose, do it at that old cherry blossom tree she loves so much."

"Eh?" Oikawa's eyes lit up with a pleasant surprise. "Does that mean I have your approval, oh great one?" he inquired teasingly.

"What do you think, dumbass?"

"Ouch, now that's just mean and uncalled for. You've been spending too much time with Iwa-chan, clearly." Oikawa smiled genuinely and ruffled her hair again, causing her to mutter and try to fix up her already messed up hair.

"Hajime is amazing," Sumire stated solemnly in a tone that left no room for any argument. "Real talk though, you'd better have the balls to confess to her."

"How much time are you giving me?"

"Christmas Day, no later."

Oikawa gaped at her. "That soon?!"

She shrugged. "You gotta risk it to get the biscuit."

"I don't even like biscuits!"

Sumire smirked. "You like _this_ biscuit enough to marry her. Or were all those words false?"

"Ugh, you are evil," Oikawa grumbled.

"I am aware." She grinned at him. "So are you going to do it?"

He sighed. "Fine. I will."

"Good." Sumire punched his arm. "I'll see you around, Tooru-nii."

"Where are you going?"

"To train with my boyfriend! I agreed to spend an hour here and another hour with him."

 _Ah, geez_. A vein popped in his cheek as he watched her leave. _She and Tobio-chan are made for each other. Annoying and bratty till the end._ He looked over to Naoko, who was nearly done with the decorating of the snowmen. _Confess, huh? It's a lot easier on paper, heh._

"EVERYONE!" Midori shouted at the top of her lungs. "ANZU SECRETLY LIKES ANIME!"

"SHUT UP, I DO NOT!"

Past the commotion, Oikawa could see Naoko's amused expression as she regarded the laughing students, the shouting Midori, and the embarrassed Anzu. Akane hardly helped when she voiced her agreement.

Naoko laughed to herself, the action soundless to Oikawa because of the distance between them. It made his chest tighten anyway.

Yeah.

He was screwed, wasn't he?

But it'd be worth it in the end, if it meant loving and marrying that girl until the end of time.

* * *

_Crack!_

Naoko swung the bat and sent the ball flying away with a splitting sound.

"Nice!"

"Look at it go!"

"Run, Naoko, run!"

Class 2-5 were currently in the middle of a physical education class session, today's sport being baseball. Naoko dashed to first base. Then second base.

Someone threw the ball to the person manning third base but Naoko was faster. She got there a split second before the ball was received.

Her classmates on the bench cheered, the loudest one being Fujikawa Haruka, which was quite a surprise. The girl had really stepped out of her shell, hadn't she?

"Oh, look, it's the upperclassmen," one student said to her friend, nudging her side with her elbow.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who happened to also be doing physical education in the same period despite being in different classes, were walking past the baseball field, behind the fencing. They both had their water bottles in their hands, having gone for a water run.

Oikawa had stopped Iwaizumi to observe Naoko play for a little while.

"Fast," Iwaizumi commented as she made it back to home base with plenty of time to spare before the ball got back. "Naoko-chan is pretty good at sport."

Oikawa nodded absently, shamelessly more focused on how her shorts hiked up her smooth thighs as she jogged back to the bench.

"... You're being a perv, aren't you?" Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes accusingly.

"Iwa-chan!" Oikawa exclaimed. "Am not!"

"It's written all over your face. Don't even try to deny it. I'm going on ahead or my teacher's going to get mad."

"Mmkay."

Oikawa continued to watch, watching as Naoko became surrounded by the classmates on her team, looking a bit bewildered by all the attention she was receiving.

 _Funny_ , he thought, _I thought that she would be more used to the spotlight by now._

"Oikawa, there you are!" Anzu jogged up to him in her sports uniform. "Sensei sent me to get you. What's taking you so long?"

"Hmm?" Oikawa chucked her a quick glance. "Oh, Anzu-chan. Tell sensei that I'll be back soon. There's a line at the fountain."

"Riiight..." Anzu followed Oikawa's gaze. "Are you going to confess soon?"

Oikawa scowled at her. "Oh, no. I've already gone through this painful discussion with someone else. We're not friends, Anzu-chan, I don't have to explain myself to you."

"So what? As much as I hate to admit it, Naoko and I are... friendlier, nowadays. I might... _might_ care a tiny little bit about her."

"... Her sister gave me until Christmas Day to confess," Oikawa revealed, sounding reluctant.

Anzu nodded. "I see. You know, you could still do it after the deadline."

"Maybe, but then I'd feel like I let her down. Sumire-chan... she's put a lot of trust into me, especially with Mako-chan."

"Hah... you care so much... why?"

"Because," Oikawa bit out, "she means a lot to me. You wouldn't understand, Anzu-chan."

"Try me."

"Like hell. You've never been in love before, have you? You're too shallow for that."

"... Actually, you're wrong. Even I'm capable of love, believe it or not." Anzu snorted as a certain silver-haired girl came to mind. "I'm just not gonna beat around the bush. Blah, blah, blah, treat her well and all that. Because, well, she's kinda my friend... a little bit."

Oikawa gave her a wry smirk. "You can't admit it to yourself, can you? But thank you for being straight forward with me." _Maybe she's not as bad as I thought..._

"Oi. She and I are frenemies at best, got it?"

"Whatever you say."

Suddenly, Toshio rounded the corner, looking like he had been running a lot. "Seriously, you two, sensei's pissed! Get back to class!"

Anzu and Oikawa exchanged a glance. Whoops.

* * *

After school, the students on the decorating committee all filed down to the auditorium, where they proceeded to shower the stage with all sorts of oranaments, like some cardboard cutouts of snowmen, elves and penguins.

A large artificial Christmas tree was brought out of the storeroom by some miracle. Naoko sweatdropped at the thought of something so large squeezing through such a small doorway.

"Amazing," she heard Sumire breathe beside her. Her little sister had chosen to show up again, not wanting to miss the tree decorating.

"Alright, everyone, this is the final thing we need to do!" Toshio announced, raising his voice above the chatter. "And that's decorate this tree!"

Ladders were brought into the auditorium, and students carefully and diligently worked to clothe the three in gigantic boas of tinsel, about fifteen wreaths, and many, many baubles. There was also electric lighting put on it as well, so that it would shine brightly in the dark (because who needs the lights on at a party?); those lights had a plug which would connect with the large star that would be placed on the top of the tree.

Akane was admiring a bauble she held in her hands when Anzu snatched it from her.

"Uh, hello? We're supposed to be decorating, not doing... whatever you were doing!"

"Oh, I was simply admiring how shiny it is," Akane replied pleasantly. "Don't you think so, Anzu-kins?"

"Yeah, yeah! Just don't get too distracted."

At long last, the Christmas tree was almost complete—all that was left now was the star on top. But who would have the honor of putting it there?

"I think Mako-chan should!" Oikawa voiced earnestly, earning some glances. "She's... she's had a rough year. She deserves to do this at least."

Sumire shot him a glance that was a mix between thankful and knowing.

"I agree!" Midori added. "Naoko's been a great friend to me."

Anzu shrugged. "I don't really care. It's just a star."

"Naoko's been really great all year," one of the girls in her class piped up. "She seemed cold at first, but she's really warming up to us now. Did you see the way she played ball yesterday?"

Naoko's classmates all nodded and voiced their agreement. Oikawa raised an eyebrow. Well, she was certainly more popular amongst her classmates than he had expected.

"I..." Naoko faltered. "If no one else wants to, I'll do it. But—"

"Nuh uh!" Midori cut her off, shaking her head. "You're doing it!" She grabbed the star from Toshio and practically shoved it into Naoko's arms. "Here! Go for it, Naachan."

Naoko looked at the star in her arms, heavier than expected but still light enough to carry easily enough, and smiled gently. "Okay."

With the star in her arms, she climbed the ladder, which was supported by some of the boys, including Oikawa. He craned and angled his neck in an awkward position, trying to see Naoko as she ascended the ladder. He only succeeded when she reached the top.

Everybody held their breath as Naoko placed the star on top, moving it around to settle it, a look of deep concentration on her face.

Finally, she stopped moving it, slowly removing her hands from it, ready to catch it if it fell. It stayed in position and Naoko could breathe easy.

As she climbed down the stairs, the other students burst into applause, combined with some "ooh"s and "ahh"s at the magnificent sight of the Christmas tree, now complete with that star on top.

"Hey, someone turn on the lighting!" one student cried out.

"Oh, yeah! Haruka, will you do the honours?" Toshio said to the Student President.

"S-sure!" Beaming, Haruka hurried to an electrical box, where everything was controlled. She flipped a switch and everybody fell into a hushed silence, waiting for the tree to light up the entire room.

Nothing happened.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

"Is it not working or something?"

Poor Haruka looked just as confused, but, luckily, Akane stepped in to save the day.

"I think," Akane said with an almost feline grin as she walked over to where the cord ended. "It's because this isn't put in properly." Squatting down, she pressed the adapting end into the power source, and the tree lit up immediately.

Everyone gasped as colors of green, red, navy blue, and all sorts of other hues lit up the room. The stars that they had painstakingly hung on the ceiling were glowing in the light, and the disco ball above the stage was shining even brighter.

It was beautiful.

Subconsciously, Oikawa pulled Naoko toward him in a back-to-front hug, wrapping his arms around her waist as they watched the marvellous display together.

Sumire flashed a smirk when she saw how cozy they were getting. At this rate, she had no doubt that Oikawa was going to confess soon—before her deadline. She checked her watch. She would be late and Kageyama would be wondering where she was.

So she took out her phone and took a snapshot of Oikawa holding Naoko, the wonderful tree in the background. Then she forwarded the image to Kageyama before turning off her phone, grinning.

Oikawa Tooru would make for an interesting brother-in-law.

* * *

_**A/N: Because I needed to.** _

_**I'll leave Anzu's sexuality up to the readers. Whether you think of her as homo, bi, pan, demi, or otherwise, I don't really care.** _


	53. You Gotta Do Your Christmas Shopping

_Fanservice: The fun starts now._

_— Some random Kuroshitsuji meme_

* * *

"Have you guys seen the new posters?" Haruka asked as she sat down with her friends at their usual table. "The Student Council put them up this morning."

"I have," Ayame answered before taking a bite out of her chocolate cornet. "It's the one which lists the time and date of the party, right?"

"And the dress code," Toshio supplied helpfully. "Casual formal for those of you that haven't checked yet."

Anzu pounced on the opportunity to show off almost immediately. "You should see the dress I bought just for the occasion," she bragged, preening under the attention. She thought of the cocktail dress she had bought from her favorite designer store and grew even more pleased with herself.

"My kaa-chan is making me a costume!" Midori chimed in, excited by all this talk about outfits. "I'll be going as a human reindeer!"

"Ooh, can't wait to see that," Anzu sneered.

"Midori-kins!" Akane exclaimed, stars in her eyes. "That is so brilliant that I should have thought of it!"

"I know right?!"

"Knuckleheads..." Anzu muttered, her eye twitching in annoyance as she scoffed at their antics.

As they all discussed what they were going to wear to the Christmas party as well as other things, Katsumi said to Naoko, "What about you, Naachan? You haven't said much."

"I'll find something," Naoko replied nonchalantly, not really caring much about what she was going to wear. It wasn't like she was out to impress anyone.

"Oh, no," Anzu said loudly, "that doesn't sound good." She smirked. "As much as I can't stand your face sometimes, it'd be a real shame if you wore a trash bag while the rest of us look our best."

Naoko shrugged, still unswayed. "Not really..."

"Christmas is the holiday of romance!" Katsumi cried. "How are you going to get noticed if you don't dress your best?"

"Eh... again... I don't really care."

"Of course you don't," Anzu growled.

"But we do," Ayame finished, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Girls, I think you know what this means..."

Naoko raised an eyebrow, bemused by what her tone was suggesting. "What? What does it mean?"

Toshio balked slightly when he realized just what Ayame was implying, turning his head around to notice the sly glances most of the girls were giving one another. "Naoko. I suggest you run. Or they'll eat you alive."

Leiko sniggered. "Don't be a spoilsport, Toshio. Your lucky that we have a date this afternoon or they'd drag you along too."

Katsumi winked at the pale class representative. "You can't escape us forever, Toshio~"

"Seriously, _what_ am I missing here?" Naoko asked irritably, sick of being out of the loop. From how everyone was behaving, it sounded like she was going to be dragged into Katsumi's basement and be psychologically tortured.

"Naoko," Ayame began, a big smile on her face, "we—"

"Are—" Midori continued, practically bouncing in her seat from excitement.

"Going to take you clothes shopping!" Akane finished, flashing Naoko a shark-like grin. "It will be the bomb dot com, Naoko-kins!"

Suddenly, being dragged down to Katsumi's basement and being psychologically tortured didn't seem like such a bad alternative. Naoko had heard plenty horror stories about what girls did to the others who didn't enjoy shopping on their shopping sprees. Naoko started to sweat at the prospect of her friends spending forty five minutes to look at one pair of shoes.

"Oh, don't look so scared," Ayame chided gently. "It'll be fun, Naachan! You're the only one of us who hasn't picked out an outfit yet so you get to be showered with all our love and attention!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Naoko deadpanned. She sighed, knowing that her friends weren't going to give up so easily. "Who's coming?" She sincerely hoped that not all of the girls (bar Leiko and Toshio, as they were going on a date) were going to accompany her on this impromptu shopping trip.

Katsumi sighed before pouting. "I wish I could go! But I have to work."

"I'm staying back to do some of my Student Council responsibilities," Haruka added regretfully.

"So I guess that means the rest of you are going...?" Naoko said, tilting her head slightly.

Ayame and Midori both nodded eagerly, giving each other a high five to celebrate their success in roping Naoko into a shopping trip at J-Mall.

Anzu sniffed, turning her nose up. "I suppose. You're going to need someone with my impeccable fashion sense to help you!"

"She means that she has nothing better to do because she has no other friends," Akane swiftly amended, earning a glare from Anzu. "Both of us are coming too, Naoko-kins."

Well, at least it wasn't the worst combination. Besides, the worst that could happen was that they'd get kicked out of the mall.

... Right?

* * *

Naoko sighed to herself as she sat on a chair and watched her girl friends bustle around, chatting like starlings as they swapped opinions on different articles of clothing before they all approached her as if they were a single entity.

She regarded them warily, especially a way too ecstatic Midori and an evil looking Anzu.

"Go easy on me," Naoko said, her voice flat. "Please."

Ayame giggled. "No can do, Naachan. We're going to need to go all out to transform you from fashion don't into fashion do!"

Again, Naoko sighed, only this time it was heavier and carried a sense of longing (to escape from their clutches and pig out at the food court).

Midori approached her first, handing her a mint green dress that opened up wide at the shoulders like a barrel head and became tight around the hips and legs. Naoko was mildly surprised that Midori would choose something so tight fitting but quickly shook it off, wordlessly taking the clothing article from her and entering the changing cubicle.

A few minutes later, she stepped out, a small blush emerging on her cheeks as the girls nodded their approval and eyed her like a dog would a piece of meat.

 _Why are they all looking at me like that...?_ Uncomfortable, she shifted her weight, finding even the slightest movement difficult thanks to how tight the dress was around her thighs and calves.

"I feel like I'm wearing a straitjacket," Naoko stated tonelessly when it became obvious that her friends were waiting for her to voice her opinion. She looked down at the barrel-shaped head. "While being shot out of a cannon," she added as an afterthought, icily watching Midori's face fall.

Midori groaned an Ayame gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "But the dress really shows off how luscious your boobs are!" Midori protested, earning another small blush from Naoko, who was distinctly uncomfortable with the lewd attention she was receiving from the green-haired girl.

"Too bad," Anzu said flippantly, folding her arms beneath her own breasts to make a point. "Who's going next?"

"I volunteer as tribute," Akane said, jolly as ever. She held up her the gown she had picked out for Naoko, which was more elaborate than the one Midori had chosen.

Naoko tried not to sigh again. Otherwise she'd find herself doing it every time one of them shoved one of those goddamn dresses in her arms and gave her a friendly push back into the changing room.

Akane had chosen a sparkly purple dress—no surprise there; purple was her favorite color and you only had to talk to Akane for five minutes before knowing that she was the sparkles and glitter kind of person—for Naoko.

The dress wasn't as difficult to put on as Midori's, thank heavens. Naoko made a small, strangled, but relieved noise at that. The dress had a rather large frilly collar that was larger cut on the right side and dipped below her shoulder toward the left, showing off some creamy skin. Naturally, it hugged a bit more around the waist, but, unlike Midori's dress, this one gave Naoko some well needed breathing space as it flared out a bit upon reaching her hips.

Bracing herself, she pulled away the curtain and stood in front of her friends, feeling their hungry gazes burn holes in her body.

"I look ridiculous, don't I?" Naoko asked, cocking an eyebrow at their pinched expressions. Akane seemed crestfallen.

"Like a clownfish," Anzu supplied unhelpfully, smirking. "A big, purple, sparkling clownfish with legs."

"That actually relieves me more than it should."

Luckily, Akane got over it quickly, shrugging. "This isn't really my forte anyway." Her eyes gleamed. "But if you ever find yourself in the need of some cosplay advice—"

"She gets it," Anzu interrupted loudly, shoving her outfit into Naoko's arms. "Try this on for size! You'll have the guys drooling all over you." The unspoken words between them hung in the air and Naoko narrowed her eyes in suspicion. _You'll have Tooru drooling all over you_ , was what Anzu truly meant.

With a short grumble, she took the dress and disappeared inside the changing room again.

When she emerged, she was practically seething at the smug Anzu. "No way in hell am I wearing this to the party."

Anzu's choice of clothing was... more revealing than the other dresses. With how short it was, it felt more like lingerie than something you would go out in.

The red-haired girl had gone for a 'sexy Santa's helper' look.

There wasn't even a neckline! Well, nothing that could be called a neckline anyway. Naoko's cleavage and the top of her round breasts were on full display, the fluffy white 'neckline' just shy of revealing her nipples. She had been forced to take off her bra just to wear this mess of an outfit, which was already a bother. The outfit was pretty simple; just a very, very short, and very, very age inappropriate dress. Save for the woollen 'neckline', it was a shade of amaranth red, the hem reaching only her upper thighs.

Heck, the monstrosity even came with a Santa hat, which Naoko only put on for the sake of it.

Midori gaped. "Holy shit, you're so hot." She gathered her bearings. "Why do you look so flat-chested in your school uniform then?!"

"Most of my clothes are loose," Naoko explained through gritted teeth. "Now are you girls done looking so I can try the last one and hopefully get to change back?"

"It's nice but I have to agree that she's definitely not wearing that to the party," Ayame said, and Naoko shot her a thankful look. "She wouldn't even be let in, for one."

"I'd let her in," Akane purred.

"... You have no shame," Ayame said with a sigh. "Like I said, _she wouldn't even be let in_."

"Oh, I know," Anzu said, looking as smug as ever as she looked Naoko up and down, appreciating the sight of her frenemy looking so... vulnerable. Without warning, she pulled out her phone from behind her back and snapped a photo of Naoko, who didn't even have time to blink.

Naoko marched forward and grabbed Anzu's wrist painfully, causing her to wince. "What the hell? Why do you even need that for?" She glared at her. "Do you intend to use it as blackmail?"

"H-hey, don't jump to conclusions so quickly," Anzu said hastily, having forgotten just what Naoko was capable of doing to people like her. "I have to say too much integrity to do anything of the sort!"

Snarling, Naoko released her, hoping that she wouldn't regret giving Anzu the benefit of the doubt. "Then what _are_ you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to help you," Anzu told her, sounding surprisingly sincere about it. There wasn't even a hint of the previous cockiness she had displayed. "I can't tell you about it, but trust me, okay? You'll find out soon."

Naoko continued to regard her coldly. Then, "Fine. But if you choose to betray my trust..." Her eyes grew even frostier, if that were even possible. "I'll make sure that you regret it. You might find out that I'm not above becoming a murderer."

"Okay, okay!" Anzu squirmed. "I get it! I won't betray you."

"Now that that's out of the way," Akane began, totally unaffected by what had just unfolded. "Go put on Ayame's dress and come out here looking gorgeous again!"

I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd think she was coming on to me, Naoko thought with a sweatdrop.

"Not as gorgeous as me," Naoko could hear Anzu say in her usual affected tone of voice.

"I suppose," Akane said, rather blasé about the whole thing. "I do find you more aesthetically pleasing on the eyes."

Naoko didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that Anzu's silence probably meant that she was blushing.

She looked down at the clothes she held in her arms, expecting to see another dress. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it _wasn't_ a dress, but a stylish winter ensamble. There was a comfortable white sweater to wear on top and a pair of black tights to wear on the bottom. The finishing touch was a creamy beige outer garment made from cashmere.

As she examined herself in the mirror, she found that she rather liked it. So she steeled herself and whipped the curtain aside, revealing herself to the girls she had come to trust.

She didn't even realize that her eyes were closed until she heard someone squeal and couldn't match a face to it.

"Perfect!" Akane exclaimed, eyes wide. "It's... you!"

"It does fit you really well, if I do say so myself," Ayame remarked, sounding proud that Naoko was rocking the outfit that _she_ had chosen.

"Eh," Anzu said, "it's not totally trashy..."

"Buy it," Midori said, uncharacteristically serious.

Naoko opened her mouth to respond, the others eagerly leaning forward to hear her accept. "No."

"What?!" they cried.

"Have you even looked at the price tag?" Naoko frowned. "There's no way I'm spending so much money on clothes."

"Gee, I can just imagine how wonderful your closet must be," Anzu said dryly.

"I don't have a closet," Naoko answered, cocking her eyebrow. "Just a clothes drawer."

"It _is_ a little pricy," Ayame admitted, looking a bit guilty for getting everyone's hopes up with her outfit.

"Yeah," Midori added reluctantly. "Too bad..."

"Ugh, forget it." Anzu sighed affectedly. "Looks like there's only one option left..." She paused for dramatic effect... and pulled out a credit card from seemingly out of nowhere. She grinned a shit-eating grin. "Consider this your Christmas present, my best frenemy. To you, from the richest girl in school, heiress to Niyaishima Home and Hearth Corporation!"

* * *

Oikawa hummed to himself as he sipped his hot chocolate. His sister had invited him over for dinner with the family (basically her and Takeru), and he, being the amazing brother he was, gladly accepted ("... You're just coming for free food, aren't you?" "Gee, thanks for having soo much faith in me, nee-chan.") without complaint.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Hotaru called from the kitchen.

Oikawa would have answered, but his phone chimed, indicating a new message had arrived. So, taking his attention away from the television program Takeru was watching, he checked it, becoming annoyed when he saw that it was from Anzu.

_What does she want?_

What had possessed his past self to exchange numbers with her in the first place? Granted, she no longer bothered him so much, but he still liked to avoid interacting with her if he could.

Rolling his eyes at her stalkerish last texts to him, he impatiently waited for the image she had sent to him to load, downing some more hot chocolate.

The picture stopped buffering and Oikawa could only be thankful that he had swallowed his beverage before he could get the chance to spit it out all over Hotaru's expensive television set.

Oikawa shamelessly and openly gaped at the image of Naoko— _his_ Naoko, the very same one—dressed in the most provocative outfit he had ever had the pleasure of seeing her wear. There was a small, embarrassed blush on her face, and her eyebrows were knitted together in a cute frown, obviously having been caught off guard when the picture had been taken.

Never in his life that he would have thought that all those curves and dips were hidden believe her frumpy clothes. And, oh god, her round, luscious breasts, barely contained by the dress—

"Tooru, your face is all red," Takeru's voice snapped him back to reality and he was horrified to see that the stupid brat was peering over his shoulder and getting an eyeful of who he had decided to be his future wife as of Monday (thanks to one meddling little sister). "Is it because of her? She's really hot," Takeru noted, obviously not recognizing Naoko just yet.

"Geehh! Stop looking, you perverted brat!" Oikawa shoved his nephew away, and he rolled onto another section of the couch. "She's mine!" He stuck his tongue out at his nephew, somehow sneering at the same time. "Plus, you're way too young!"

"Kaa-chaaan!" Takeru yelled. "Tooru's being a manwhore again!"

"Takeru! I told you not to use that word again!" Hotaru scolded from the kitchen. "You don't know what it actually means!"

"Yeah, I do! Mako-sensei said—"

"I know what she said! She was just humouring you!"

Takeru forgot all about the picture in favor of arguing with his mother, something that Oikawa was decidedly thankful for. Sighing in exasperation, he opened up the picture again, smiling fondly.

Then his face fell comically as he realized something.

_How mad is she going to be if—no, when—she finds out?_

Tears pricked his eyes. _That's just cruel, Anzu. So, so cruel._

He'd just have to enjoy this miniature blessing while he still had the time.

* * *

_**A/N: Because fanservice. Largely filler. Next chapter will be the party... and... the get together...?!** _

_**Stay tuned... huehue...** _

_**Dress designs inspired by my favorite comic series: Betty and Veronica. I love my gals. I know I'm kind of putting Sumire and Kageyama to the side a bit, but they'll be back with a major scene next chapter.** _

_**EDIT: SORY FO ALL THE TYPOS IT IS 3AM AND I NEED SOME SLEEP** _


	54. Season Finale: Holy Holy Night

_Happy birthday._

_— Tooru Oikawa to Naoko Makoshima_

* * *

Naoko stared blankly at the paper when she got home, having retrieved it from their mailbox. The school was really going all out with this year's Christmas party if they were mass producing and mailing the flyers to the homes of every student in Aobajosai to make sure that they got the memo.

On the kitchen table was a shopping bag with cursive writing on one side, the insignia of a popular designer store. Inside were the clothes that Ayame had painstakingly picked out for her; the clothes that Anzu had so generously paid for, though she denied it was because she actually held some attachment to Naoko.

But those clothes were not Naoko's current concern. She merely kept staring at the paper, reading the listed time and date of the party over and over again. It started at seven o'clock and ended at eleven o'clock. A good, solid four hours of partying and socializing and reminiscing the past year.

According to Toshio, it was supposed to have ended at twelve, but the few faculty members that had volunteered to chaperone (because who could trust teenagers to be by themselves at a school party?) didn't want it to go on so late, especially since Christmas was as much of a holiday to them as it was to the students.

There would be no school on the day of the party; while Christmas was not an official national holiday in Japan, it was still incredibly popular. Popular enough to have days off on the twenty fourth of December and the twenty fifth. Then a ten day winter vacation for students would start on the twenty sixth.

Naoko turned her attention away from the time and to the date instead. The twenty fourth of December.

Christmas Eve.

The happiest night on Earth.

She continued to scrutinize the flyer for a little while longer before wordlessly folding it up and pinning it on the fridge with one of the few magnets that they had.

Then she got up and went to the living room, leaving her brand new clothes still sitting on the kitchen table in the bag.

Perhaps Christmas had brought out a more sentimental side to her, as Naoko plucked one of the framed photos sitting on the cabinet and brought it with her to the couch. She turned on the television and changed the channel to a popular news channel, though she only did it for background noise than anything else.

She'd never noticed how quiet it could get in the house before. Probably because, in the past, she had been more concerned and focused on other things.

 _Fool_ , she berated herself. Naoko snorted softly and beheld the image sitting in the frame behind the glass.

This one was old—something that she had dug up from the storeroom. She had only been able to find it because she still recalled herself putting it away all those years ago.

Left on the cabinet, her newer photos sat. All the ones that Mizushima had graciously took for them. Her new friends. Her family.

Naoko looked down at the photo she held. They—she couldn't forget, even if she wanted to—were also her family.

Tadashi had definitely gotten his good looks from their father—her brother was the spitting image of their father—blonde hair, blue eyes and whatnot. The only difference was that of their face shapes. Their father had a square jawline, stern eyes, and was what most women and some men would describe as ruggedly handsome. On the other hand, Tadashi's face was more delicate and he had a pointier chin and high cheek bones. Features he had inherited from his mother—a woman that Naoko had never known.

Her and Sumire's mother was smiling softly into the picture, but her eyes were hard as flint—even sterner than their father's.

Naoko's mother had the same high cheek bones that Tadashi had, coincidentally, and it wasn't hard to tell who Sumire and Naoko had taken after, only that her daughters' faces were a bit more rounded and filled out than hers, though still slim and delicate.

Naoko stood up and out the picture back in its original place on the cabinet, behind all those photos of her and Oikawa and the rest of their friends.

She paid more attention to the newscast, where the live reporter was describing a vehicle accident that had tragically killed all of those involved. Cause? Ice, snow, or some mundanely shitty reason like that.

It was that time of year again.

* * *

"Christmas party?" Daichi parroted as he, some of his team (most of the second years, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, and Asahi had all gone home earlier for whatever reason), and Sumire all headed down to Sakanoshita for some meat buns. "Your school does that kind of thing?"

"Not my school," Sumire corrected, "My sister's. Aobajosai."

"Ah." Daichi's eyes hardened ever so slightly. Sumire honestly couldn't blame him.

Tanaka was next to say something. "Hah? That fancy private school can actually loosen up and have fun? Why don't we have something like that?"

"We should petition to the school!" Noya declared, equally indignant at the fact that a bunch of stiffs were allowed to have an end of year school party and they weren't.

"The reason that we don't have those things is because we clearly have too much fun the rest of the year," Suga said reasonably, smiling.

"Suga-senpai has a point," Sumire thought aloud, knowing how energetic they could all be.

"We should all go!" Hinata suggested, lighting up not unalike the Christmas tree Sumire had helped decorate a week ago. "Are we allowed to, Sumire?!"

"How would she know?" Kageyama answered for her. "She doesn't even go there, Hinata dumbass."

"Oi, I was just asking!"

"Your questions are stupid, runt!"

"Your face is stupid!"

"Enough," Daichi said tiredly, worn from an afternoon of hard practice. "It's Christmas, you two, stop fighting."

"Or else I can't promise that Kageyama will get the pork curry meat bun," Suga added slyly. "I hear that they make it extra hot this time of year."

Kageyama clamped up so tightly that Sumire thought he looked constipated. She wasn't the only one, as Hinata laughed and pointed at him, causing Kageyama to give him a death glare, which soon shut him up as well.

"Wow, Suga-senpai," Sumire said, nodding as she mentally took notes, "you really know what makes Tobio tick. Got any advice for me?"

"Shut up, twig," Kageyama snarked.

"You first, stick."

"Would that make Tsukishima a tree or a branch?" Noya suddenly wondered, turning to Tanaka. "What do you think, bro?"

"I think that we shouldn't be thinking of that grinch during Christmas," Tanaka said. "Also, branch. He's not that much taller than Kageyama."

"What would I be?" Hinata questioned, eyes shining.

"A slightly larger twig," Kageyama answered, smirking down at him.

They all laughed at Hinata's expense, the situation being even funnier when the orange-haired ball of sunshine spluttered and threatened to beat up Kageyama half-heartedly.

Finally, they arrived at the Sakanoshita Store, entering the shop and sighing in relief as they were embraced by warmth.

Ukai was already there, having come down here earlier to "check on his kids" after a phone call (he had gotten some questioning looks from the team).

"Yo, coach!" Noya greeted, getting a half-hearted lifting of the hand in return from Ukai, "Hi Taiga!"

The girl with long brown hair and big eyes filled with mischief smiled back, the grin carrying a slight edge to it. "If it isn't my favorite shorty! Come for another gari-gari?"

"Hey, you're shorter than me, you brat!"

"For now."

"You still eat gari-garis in this weather?" Daichi asked, blinking in disbelief at the libero.

"It's never too cold for a gari-gari-kun!" Noya proclaimed to the bemused captain. "Gari-gari-kuns are perfect for any kind of weather, be it hail, wind, or ice!"

"Taiga?" Sumire uttered, shock apparent in her voice and her eyes.

Taiga was equally shocked. "Y-you... Sumire-senpai...!" Guilt flooded her gaze.

"Hm?" Ukai glanced between them. "You two know each other, I take it?"

"You could say that," Sumire said stiffly, and the boys formed some sort of protective barrier around her, whether it be unintentional or otherwise. _What... is she doing here?_

Taiga sighed and climbed over the counter without a care for the newspapers she stepped up, much to Ukai's ire.

"Sumire-senpai!" Taiga all but shouted, stomping over to the youngest Makoshima sibling. She stopped short of Sumire by a few steps. "I'm sorry!" She bowed to Sumire at the waist, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I'm sorry for destroying your violin! If it makes you feel any better, my idiot twin brother is currently sick with the flu right now!" She gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry!"

The boys and Ukai all stared in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and amazement, waiting for Sumire to either refute her apology or accept it.

She didn't get the chance as Kageyama's temper flew up. "Wait. So she's the one that did that?" he demanded, glaring death at the small girl. Poor Taiga was even shorter than Sumire.

"Yeah," Sumire sighed. "She... helped." Ignoring what Kageyama had to say next, she walked up to Taiga. "Hey."

Taiga lifted her head, hopeful.

And Sumire slapped her across the face.

Taiga blinked, her cheek stinging. "I deserved that."

"Hell yes, you did."

All of a sudden, the tension had defused and the boys all sighed in relief, while Kageyama looked like he was proud of Sumire but also unsatisfied that a slap on the wrist (or the face) was all Taiga had gotten. Well, at least it looked like it hurt.

In the end, they all enjoyed their meat buns, ignoring Ukai's usual mantra of "go home and eat a proper meal" that came with the buns.

Sumire stole a bite from Kageyama's pork curry meat bun at least three times, much to his dismay, until he figured out that he could do the same thing to her meat bun, which was the same flavor. So their food ended up having uneven chunks bitten out of it, courtesy of some food stealing competition.

"I ate seven bites!" Sumire declared through a mouthful of dough and curry. "I win!"

"Did not!" Kageyama countered. "I ate ten bites!"

"Liar, I was counting, you ate five!"

"Ten!"

"Five!"

"Ten!"

Daichi sighed at their antics, and Suga laughed good naturedly at the captain's fond exasperation.

Hinata was with Noya and Tanaka, all of them observing their competition as they guffawed at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

Even Taiga cracked a smile as Ukai handed her a ice pack for that very angry slap mark on her cheek.

"I'm sure they won't mind if you come to the Christmas party," Sumire said a few minutes later when they left the store. "I saw the flyer that they sent to my house and it said that the dress code was casual formal, so they won't really be able to tell if you're students there or not."

"When is it?" Daichi asked.

She gave them the time and date and they all nodded, indicating that they were free. But Kageyama had some more reservations about it, stating that they should be training for nationals.

But Daichi quickly put a stop to that kind of talk.

"It's Christmas, Kageyama. Enjoy yourself. Loosen up a bit. It's not bad to slack off sometimes after lots of training."

"... Fine," Kageyama relented at the firmness of his captain's words.

"I bet there'll be mistletoes hanging around!" Tanaka said slyly. "We might be able to score with some of the chicks there."

"Pervert," Sumire deadpanned.

"Oi, I didn't mean it _that_ way!" The boys and Sumire could practically see the hearts in his eyes as he said, "There's only one person I want to share that magical experience with anyway. And that person is the beautiful Kiyoko!"

"Not happening, bro, she's with me!" Noya proclaimed, pointing a thumb at his own chest.

They started to argue, and Tanaka even tossed something like "You looked pretty cozy with Taiga back there", causing Noya to deny it and state something similar to "Dude, she's only thirteen!"

Sumire stated flatly at them. "Do they even realize that they're arguing about who's going to screw Shimizu-senpai first?"

"I hope not," Kageyama answered, giving the arging pair a sideways glance.

"I think they do," Hinata said thoughtfully, "somewhere deep, deep inside their minds."

In the end, Daichi ended up comically conking their heads together.

* * *

Naoko closed the book she was reading and checked the clock on the wall. It was nearly time. She quickly changed into the clothes that Anzu had bought her two weeks ago, hardly giving her reflection in the mirror a second glance before she swept down the stairs. Tadashi had chosen to go ahead to meet up with his friends on the volleyball team while Sumire had gone to Kageyama's place to get a ride with him.

The walk down to the Aobajosai was cold, but it wasn't actively snowing like before. Surprisingly, the cashmere cardigan was good for insulating and keeping out the cold.

The party was already in full swing by the time she arrived, some frost in her hair, which she swept off briskly before entering the auditorium.

She caught the eyes of Midori staring at her for a few good seconds before the corners of said eyes crinkled in a smile. "Naachan! Over here, Naachan!"

"Honey, you look fabulous," Katsumi complimented as Naoko joined their circle of friends.

"Thank you?"

"Want a drink?" Ayame said, handing her an untouched cup of punch.

"There's no alcohol in this, right?" Naoko asked, taking the drink before sniffing it.

The purple-haired girl snorted. "Heck no! Haruka would probably get kicked off the board, for one."

The auditorium was just as beautiful as Naoko remembered it to be with all their decorations and the giant Christmas tree in the centre. The artificial tree was glowing brighter than ever, complimenting the shining glow in the dark stars hanging from the ceiling as well as higher parts of the walls.

Some members of the music club had volunteered to perform some incidental music onstage as everybody buzzed and chattered with their friends, celebrating the holiday that was Christmas. The female singer—a girl in her third year—crooned softly into the microphone, getting some catcalls from the boys. Behind her, her band mates were playing multiple instruments and looking like they were having the time of their lives.

Naoko glanced upward and saw that the disco ball was spinning around and reflecting the light from the Christmas tree, making parts of the hall flash.

"Oh, Anzu-kins, why don't we put on a dance?" Akane suddenly suggested to her best friend. She intertwined her fingers with Anzu, grinning brightly.

"What? Now?" Anzu looked around. "Um..."

"Come on, it will be the bomb dot com, as always!"

"Ugh, fine!" They headed over to an open space nearby and begun to dance, Anzu and Akane performing like naturals.

"Are they...?" Naoko narrowed her eyes. "Dating...?"

"Eh?" Ayame turned to her. "You think so?"

"Thank the lord I'm not the only one who thinks that," Leiko remarked as she and Toshio strolled up to them, Toshio looking a bit worse for wear.

"But how?!" Toshio spluttered. "Anzu hates... everyone!"

"So do I, yet here we are," Leiko said dryly.

"Oh, everyone!" Haruka approached them, wearing a lilac dress that went down to her knees. "I should warn you, some of the naughtier council members put a bunch of mistletoes up around the hall, so be careful."

"You don't seem so upset about it," Naoko observed.

Haruka blushed. "I'm not, you're right. I think they're a good addition, actually, and the teachers actually agreed! Mistletoes really up the romance levels around here."

As if she had been following a cue, Anzu spun and tossed Akane in the air. The girl did a bunch of fancy manoeuvres in the air before landing on her toes, seemingly light as a feather.

Then Akane pecked Anzu on the cheek, earning cheers from some of their audience.

Leiko turned to her boyfriend. "You owe me five hundred yen."

"Dammit!"

On the other side of the tree, Sumire arrived with Hinata and Kageyama in tow, the latter looking slightly agitated at all the pounding loudness.

Suga, Daichi, and Tanaka and Noya had already come before them, and all were spread out somewhere in the hall.

Tanaka was with Noya at the snack table, pouring punch into his cup as he awkwardly watched a group of girls on the other end of the table.

"Noya... bro... the girl talk is killing me," Tanaka whimpered as the girls practically glowed in their eyes.

Noya nodded in agreement. "Ryuu... even if we can't agree on Kiyoko, let's agree on this."

"Girl talk is a blessing from heaven," they both said at the same time, sighing in bliss before downing their punch at the same time, as if to celebrate the holy event known as girl talk.

"They have dango!" Suddenly, Hinata, Kageyama, and Sumire were at the table too, the orange-haired kid picking up two sticks of dango before proceeding to devour the sweets.

Startled by the suddenness of what was happening, the girls looked at the three before turning to Tanaka and Noya.

The two second years flinched, hesitating before they tried to look as suave as possible in the face of these beautiful Aobajosai girls.

 _Damn_ , they thought, _we must look super cool and handsome!_

Unfortunately for them, in the perspective of the girls, they were being leered at by a pair of suspicious looking people who were probably hentai watching perverts.

"Ew."

"Why are they staring like that?"

"Let's get out of here."

Tanaka and Noya collapsed on the floor in embarrassment and disbelief as the girls sashayed away, Hinata watching them curiously as they left, his mouth stuffed full of dango.

Sumire sighed. "Well, I don't think we have anything to worry about with those two."

"Was there ever?" Kageyama raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, I guess not. I think I may have overestimated them."

"Mmmrff!" said Hinata, nodding, his maw still overflowing with dango.

Tanaka lifted his face from the floor, hissing. "We can hear you!"

"That's the point!" Sumire retorted, grinning.

An hour and a half later, Oikawa Tooru, wearing a white tailored long-sleeved shirt with a minty turquoise tie that was slightly loose and a dark blue jacket on top of all that, and a pair of brown pants, found himself craning his neck and looking around the auditorium as Iwaizumi talked animatedly to him.

"Oi!" Iwaizumi slapped his arm. "I've told you a million times, pay attention when people talk to you, asshole."

"Sorry, Iwa-chan," Oikawa apologized half-heartedly, still glancing around, sweatdropping when he saw Midori prancing around the giant Christmas tree in a reindeer costume like she was performing a satanic ritual.

Iwaizumi raised his brows at the apology. "... You know, you'd have a better chance of finding her if you actually walked around."

"Ack!" Oikawa flinched. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes," Iwaizumi deadpanned.

The brunet grinned sheepishly. "You wouldn't mind if I went, would you...?"

Iwaizumi shook his head. "It's fine. Just don't do anything your grandmother wouldn't want you to do."

Oikawa snorted softly. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Iwa-chan." He detached himself from his side and began to take his best friend's advice by searching around the hall for one Makoshima Naoko.

Five minutes later, he had circled the whole room and there was still no sign of her. He looked to the stage, figuring that this was about the time that Naoko would appear on stage drunk and acting completely out of character.

He shook his head. As hilarious as that would be, that only happened in movies. Plus, the band was still up there, albeit cleaning up, so unless Naoko telefragged them all, she wouldn't be doing anything anytime soon.

_So where are you, Naachan?_

He figured asking Midori, but thought the better of it. She'd been doing that crazy dance ever since he arrived so he doubted that she would have seen Naoko, being too enamoured in what she was doing.

Ten minutes later, he had circled another three times around the auditorium and there was still no sign of her. Oikawa thought of looking for someone in a sexy Santa's helper outfit, but Naoko wouldn't be caught dead wearing that in front of the entire school.

Oikawa glimpsed the Karasuno captain and the silver-haired setter, Refreshing-san, but Naoko was still off the radar.

"Oikawa?"

The brunet in question turned to see Tadashi coming up to him. The oldest Makoshima was wearing a sweater with a wintry reindeer and snowflake design, as well as some reindeer antlers he had borrowed from either Makki or Mattsun. Someone had drawn a cute red reindeer nose on his nose, probably Makki.

"Are you looking for my sister?" Tadashi asked.

"What gave it away?" Oikawa said loftily. He cleared his throat. "Do you know where she went? It's almost like she left the party."

"Uh," Tadashi scratched his nose and looking slightly uncomfortable, "that's because she did."

"Eh?" Oikawa frowned. "But all her friends are still here. Did she go home already?" _Gah, Naachan, you stupid hermit. You're lucky I'm a hermit whisperer._

"No, it's not that." Tadashi sighed. "I think I have a good idea of where she is. She hasn't done this in years, but..." Oikawa leaned closer, waiting for Tadashi to continue. "Tonight is the anniversary of our parents' death. And also her birthday," he added as a rather morose afterthought.

Oikawa blinked. "That's..." he trailed off. _Terrible. Is it some kind of curse? The work of aliens? Why do bad things always happen on their birthdays? I didn't even get her a present..._ He could have said all of these things aloud but he had a feeling that Tadashi would not appreciate it.

"I know." Tadashi chuckled mirthlessly. "I guess some people have all the luck and some... just don't." He paused before drinking some of his punch. "She's at the train station. You're going after her, right...?"

"Mm," Oikawa mumbled. "But would she want me to? This seems like a very personal thing."

"Maybe so, but..." Tadashi's gaze softened. "You're part of the family now."

Oikawa allowed himself a smirk. "Really now?"

"Really. You really changed her, you know. Granted, a lot of things did, but you were there for her when she needed you. So don't stop now, Oikawa. Show her that you can be there for her again. Plus, it's her birthday."

"... You know, when you don't stutter, you're good at motivational speeches." Oikawa winked at Tadashi one last time before saying, "Thanks for that. Wish me luck?"

"Heh. Hopefully you won't need it."

* * *

She'd been here before. Past these dark streets, where everything closed after nine o'clock because people wanted to spend time with their families during this holy holiday.

The snow crunched beneath her boots and fresh snow fell upon her hair as she walked down to the train station, the moon behind a thin layer of clouds her guide for tonight.

It was chilly. Then again, when was it not? She should have been used to it by now, even if she was only wearing three layers.

Naoko pulled her scarf down to breathe out through her mouth, her hot breath creating a puff of white mist. Then she put the scarf back over the bottom half of her face, her cheeks pink from the cold.

At last, she reached the train station, where she proceeded to brush the snow off her clothes and search for a particular bench. The one with the dried up gum shaped like a heart stuck on the right side.

She found it in a matter of minutes.

There, she sat, curling up into a tight ball and hugging her knees to her chest, her boots flat on the bench.

Naoko held whatever vigil this would be considered as silently, watching the stationary trains on the other side of the station. She turned her head to the left, where she hoped—and she knew perfectly well that it was foolish to hope because they'd been gone for four, no, _five_ , years now and no train arrived after nine o'clock on Christmas Eve—that one last train would come, carrying with it the passengers lost to that stupidly tragic train accident.

A shiver ran down her arms, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was a ghost, anchored to the station by mysterious forces. Call her superstitious, but she couldn't help but believe that spirits of some sort did exist—and for her, they came out at night, not during the day.

Or maybe it wasn't a ghost, and that tremor was because of the wintry chill.

She buried her face further into her scarf, seeking warmth that she could not find. It was as if her clothing had finally resigned to become as cold as she was.

 _I wonder what would happen if I chose to cry now_ , she thought, a ghost of a smile tugging on her lips, _Would it be cold enough for my tears to freeze? And if it was, where will they freeze? On my cheeks? My chin? My neck? Or maybe it'd drop to the ground first and then freeze._

She thought of Sumire, who was probably having a half-hearted verbal sparring session with Kageyama over something mundane like who got to eat the last fish sausage in the snack bowl.

Though one might have thought otherwise at first glance, Naoko could see the deep affection they held for each other through their argumentive fronts. Any insult was all in good fun and affectionate, and the hitting, kicking, and forehead flicking was something akin to that.

Tadashi entered her mind next. She sighed to herself, feeling a little more somber as she thought of him. Tadashi was twenty now—an adult. He'd grown up before she even knew it. _He's been through so much. Falling in love so easily has that kind of effect. I hope he finds someone in the future. He really deserves it._

Her family... her beautiful, beautiful family.

Incomplete, but that didn't matter.

Naoko shivered again, hugging herself even tighter. Through the black tights she wore, she could feel how cold her legs were. It might even be dangerous staying here any longer.

Not that she cared.

She looked up at the sky, for the shelter didn't stretch as far as to accomodate the bench she was sitting on.

Through even the thick snow clouds, she could still glimpse the moon, shining proudly and brightly.

It was that time of year again.

A gentle footfall reached her ears and her gaze shifted to the right, impassively watching Oikawa approach her, his hands shoved in the pockets of his midnight blue jacket. It had a fluffy interior, Naoko noted, and she wondered how warm it was.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her voice coming out rougher than she intended it to.

"Nobody should spend their birthday alone," he told her, taking a seat beside her. Oikawa didn't bother to elaborate, but his silence spoke volumes to her.

"So Tadashi told you?" She chuckled, the sound mirthless and out of place. "Figures..."

"He didn't say very much," Oikawa said, and it wasn't a complete lie. "All he told me was that tonight is..." He paused, as if he wasn't sure if he could say the words. "The anniversary of your parents' death."

"So he only gave you the bare bones of it," Naoko noted after a while, keeping her gaze fixated in front of her, where the stationary locomotives were. "He's probably expecting me to tell you the rest." She turned to him, her grey eyes contemplative.

 _Do you want to?_ The question was clear enough in his eyes as he regarded her.

There were a few more moments of even silence before she spoke again, "On my twelfth birthday, my parents passed away in a train accident." He didn't say anything so she continued, patting the bench. "I sat here as I waited for them to arrive. They were coming back from a business trip for my birthday." Her lips curved into one could only be described as a self-loathing smirk, though it was hidden by her scarf. "I'd always been their favorite. I waited for them for four hours in the snow until the last train arrived... without them."

Again, Oikawa made no indication that he was going to say anything.

"It was our grandmother that looked after us after they died. I worked hard to get a scholarship to Shiratorizawa Junior High to be with Tadashi. I knew that he was getting bullied. But I felt like I could do more if I was there with him at school as well. Somehow, Izumi was there as well. She was their ringleader. She led the ones who picked on him. They said they hated him because he's gay. And I think that some of them did. But I know that Izumi only did it because she hated me. I suppose he told you about his eye? She did that to him. He had to watch his classmates leave him behind to ascend to the next grade while he recovered in hospital.

"They found out about his sexuality in the first place when he confessed to a good friend of his. Ichirou. But Ichirou only accepted the confession so that he could show the school what Tadashi was... really like.

"Tadashi... he turned to his best friend, Akira, after that. But he walked away as well. I took out my anger on all them, especially Izumi." She paused, looking up at him. "I was expelled on Tadashi's graduation day. After that, we moved out of Miyagi to Osaka for a few years. Things were better there. Quieter. But obaa-chan fell ill and wanted to return to Miyagi, where she was born. So we came back and transferred to Aobajosai. I'd already gotten a job offer to teach self defence there thanks to my performance at my last tournament, so it was perfect. And the rest... is history."

Oikawa didn't answer immediately, as if he was taking everything in—the details, the tone of which she said some things in—everything.

"I won't pretend to understand," was the first thing he said, "because I don't. But I don't need to be able to understand to know how unfair life has treated you. Mako-chan—Naoko—" He cut himself off. "I don't want things to be like that for you anymore. Because someone as strong and brave as you are shouldn't have to deal with that kind of shit." He turned to her. "Naoko. Would you still believe me if I told you now... that things get better?" Oikawa took her cold, freezing hands into his own, intertwining their fingers and squeezing her smaller hands. "Those things you told me... I never knew about. But now that I do... I still believe that it will get better. Things have changed." _Because I'm here for you now._

Naoko swallowed, feeling the back of her eyes sting in that familiar sensation as her words became momentarily stuck in her threat. "I know," she bit out, her throat bobbing beneath her scarf. "I know that things have changed. I know that things are going to get better because they already have." She lifted her gaze to match his. "You're living proof of this."

Again, they delved into silence.

Again, one of them broke it, this time Oikawa being the one to do so. "Don't look at me as if I'm some angel, Naoko." He sighed heavily. "Because I'm not. Naoko... I don't know if you already know but..." He chuckled, the sound filled with self-loathing. How convenient. "I used to hate your brother. I hated him to the point where I wanted him to die so he could finally leave me alone." It felt eerie hearing himself say that, especially after his animosity toward Tadashi had mellowed out.

The snow, which had been falling semi-hard, lightened slightly, the difference barely noticeable.

"Why?" Naoko inquired eventually, too tired to be angry. It was all in the past now. She was... intrigued.

"Because he was my kindergarten bully. He picked on me. I was known as the weird kid who liked aliens. I had no friends except for Iwa-chan. When he graduated from elementary school... it became one of the happiest moments of my life. When he came back to... haunt me this year, I was intent on getting revenge on him for what he did to me in the past. And when he confessed to me, it was the perfect opportunity. But, by then, something had changed inside me."

She kept quiet.

"It was _you_. You changed me. You and the rest of your wacky family." Oikawa looked imploringly into her eyes. "I don't know how or why, because I was never supposed to fall in love with you. But I think, in a way, you saved me. So you see, I'm not an angel or a saint, Naoko. So don't look at me like I am one. You don't deserve that."

More silence. It was like these pauses were becoming a norm now.

Oikawa's throat bobbed nervously as he waited for her answer, reviewing what he said to her. He had told her that he had fallen in love with her. Well, there went the smooth confession he had planned out. Surely, she hated him now. She would never love him back. He was surprisingly calm about it.

"I don't see you as an angel or a saint," she finally replied. "Because you're right, you're clearly neither of those things. And I wouldn't want you to be either. Because then you wouldn't be yourself. But you don't have to be those things to change someone... to change someone like you've changed me. Tooru, no angel or saint was responsible for that. I'd have to be a fool to think that."

Naoko sighed, crossing her legs. "I wasn't supposed to fall in love with you either."

Oikawa straightened. So she hadn't missed the part where he had said that he loved her. She was far too sharp for that. A small, sincere smile graced his features. "Naoko. How do you love me?"

"Hm?" She cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean how?"

"I mean," he said, "what kind of love?"

She did not deliberate the answer for long. "The... the I want to marry you kind of love," she said quietly, a small blush dusting her cheeks.

Oikawa gave a tiny smirk, the action surprisingly genuine in its own way. "For the record, I want to marry you too."

"... Not now, I hope."

"No," he agreed, "but somewhere in the future, I'm going to marry you."

Naoko smiled beneath her scarf. "I'll hold you onto that."

"I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. You have yet to do that."

By now, the snowfall had transformed into a lazy drift of snowflakes. Oikawa stood up and held out his hand to her, Naoko giving him a bemused glance.

"May I have this dance?" he asked lightly.

Her smile growing even wider, she took his outstretched hand. "You may."

He swept her around the empty train station, holding her tightly, afraid that, if he let go, she would be ripped from his clutches forever.

She was the same, longing for the warmth his body gave her as he twirled her around the platform. Because they both knew that good things like these had an expiry date.

Snow fell on their clothes, but neither of them cared.

At last, the dance ended just as the last snowflake for the night fell.

"You're so beautiful," Oikawa murmured in her ear, lacing his fingers between hers as he embraced her with all his love. "Naoko."

"Hm?"

Oikawa gently tugged the scarf away from her face, revealing her soft, pink lips. Then he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers.

Naoko didn't resist, kissing back somewhat shyly, her eyelids at half-mast.

He released her lips, though their faces remained close together. "I love you."

"What kind of love?" Naoko asked teasingly.

He smirked against her lips and bumped their noses. "The I want to marry you kind."

"I'll hold you onto that," she reiterated, pressing her cheek against his. "Tooru?"

"Yes, Mako-chan?"

"For the record, I love you too. The I want to marry you kind."

"... I knew you'd come around and fall for my boyish charm."

"Shut up, please, Shittykawa, you're ruining the moment."

"Ouch! Don't step on my foot!" Oikawa pouted at her. "What a mean girlfriend!"

"Idiot." Naoko grabbed his tie and kissed him again, this time rougher. She let him go. "Happy?"

"... Yes," he admitted, unable to fight off the undoubtedly silly grin on his face. "Oh, Mako-chan, one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday."

A small smile made its way up her face, her eyes softening. "... Thank you."

* * *

 _"Silent night..."_ the third year girl crooned, having been invited back on stage for an encore. _"Holy night..."_

Nearly all the couples were slow dancing in the auditorium, the ones who weren't were respectful enough not to get in the way, standing to the side and talking to one another.

There were very few people now, most having gone home. This would be the last dance number before the teachers supervising would usher everyone out and urge them to go home.

_"All is calm... All is bright. Round yon virgin... mother and child..."_

Sumire yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm so tired... I'm going to need to guzzle a soda for enough energy just to walk to my front door from the driveway..."

"It is getting late," Kageyama conceded. "And all everyone is doing now is some shitty dancing."

"Pfft!" Sumire snickered as she watched the couples shuffle across the dance floor. "You're only saying that because you can't dance."

Kageyama glared at her before shoving her to the side, making her cry out indignantly. "You can't dance either," he mocked. "So shut up, dumbass."

"Ugh, I hate it when you're right," she grumbled.

They were standing by the snacks table, having really only been interested in the food and each other than anything else the whole time they were there.

Behind the table, however, were a few troublemakers. Namely, Tanaka and Noya, with Hinata joining in only because he wanted to see his friends happy.

Tanaka had somehow acquired a fishing rod and Noya had grabbed a mistletoe from somewhere. A mistletoe and a fishing rod with string and a hook were never a good combination, but Hinata wholeheartedly believed that some good could come out of the normally deadly amalgamation. Even if it was _Tanaka_ and _Noya_ in possession of those two items.

"Operation Matchmaker is a go," Tanaka whispered to Noya and Hinata, carefully lowering the mistletoe between Kageyama and Sumire, just above their heads.

"Uwaaah, Tanaka-senpai is so cool!" Hinata whisper-shouted, earning a pleased smirk from the bald second year.

"I know right?!" Tanaka quietly exclaimed, continuing to wind the reel without realizing how far down it was.

"Ryuu, look out!" Noya cried, eyes widening in horror as the mistletoe swung from side to side before slapping itself into Kageyama's forehead.

Slowly, Tanaka, Hinata, and Noya stood up from behind the snack table, waiting for the first year setter to explode and preparing to run while they were at it.

Kageyama peeled the mistletoe off his face with an unimpressed look, Sumire barely able to contain her laughter, her cheeks slightly red from the implications of the artificial plant.

"What is this?" he asked, puzzled, and Sumire burst out laughing at his ignorance. "Oi, I'm serious! What kind of plant is this?"

Hinata, Noya, and Tanaka all sighed in mild relief.

"You—" Sumire held in her laughter. "You really don't know?"

"No," affirmed Kageyama, dumbfounded. "Tell me what it is."

"Dumbass, it's a mistletoe!"

"Don't call me dumbass, dumbass!" Kageyama glared at her. "What's it for?"

Ah, a perfect opportunity. Sumire grinned slyly. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Kageyama tilted his head to one side. "Okay...?"

Hinata gasped loudly but the sound was cut off when Tanaka clapped his hand over his mouth and dragged him back underneath the table with a bump.

"Idiot!" Noya scolded Hinata quietly. "You're going to ruin the moment!"

Sumire shrugged, "You asked for it." Feeling a bit more hesitant, she leaned closer to him. And captured his lips in a chaste kiss. She exhaled as she drew back. "Do you get it now?"

"... Actually," Kageyama confessed with a smirk, "I knew all along."

"... You are a sick and twisted man." Sumire blushed furiously and folded her arms, keeping her eyes on the floor. "I can't believe I fell for that!"

"I can't believe you fell for it either! You're more of a dumbass than I thought!"

"Sh-shut up!"

Sumire launched herself at her boyfriend but he easily fended her off.

"Give up?" he asked mockingly when he held her in a headlock.

She tilted her head back to glare at him. "Piss off."

Rolling his eyes, Kageyama pecked her lips, his face red. "Do you still want me to piss off now?"

"... Fine, you can stay. Now let me go, jackass!"

Suddenly, the snack table nearly flipped over as Tanaka, Noya and Hinata jumped out, all of them shouting different things.

Startled, Sumire cursed and whipped around while Kageyama shouted back at them in surprise, leading to some kind of animated half-serious bickering. Daichi and Suga quickly hurried over to stop them from escalating into a fist fight.

Sumire sighed in mild relief as her heartbeat calmed. _Stupid dumbass..._ She smiled to herself. _But he's my dumbass._

All the while, the third year singer had been softly singing Silent Night. Now she was returning to the final verses of the chorus to conclude the song.

_"Sleep in heavenly peace..._

_"Sleep in heavenly... peace."_

* * *

**_A/N: I... honestly don't know what to say. I'm going to act like this is the last chapter because, honestly, it might as well be. The next arc is all fun and games compared to everything that has happened so far._ **

**_If you've read from the beginning up until here, thank you so much. Like I can't even begin to describe how happy that makes me feel. Oh god, I'm actually getting semi emotional. To the point where I've had to rewrite the word 'actually' three times because I kept spelling it wrong._ **

**_HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAOKO TT-TT_ **

**_Also, I recommend Holy Holy Night (Toradora!) for this chapter._ **


	55. Finish Line and Beyond

_**A/N: First of all, I want to apologize. I don't think I had any idea what I was getting into when my weirdass brain came up with the idea of inserting Haikyuu! in the real world. My world.** _

_**So guess what? I'm scrapping the arc. Because the main story has already been told and there's no need to fluff around any longer.** _

_**I seriously just want to end this story already. I don't want to fall into the trap of a never ending fic, which I fear will happen if I go on with this arc.** _

_**The idea was terrible and concocted when I was on a sugar high with my friends and laughing about dick jokes.** _

_**So, yeah. The arc's no longer happening, nor will it be replaced with something else. I hope you understand. I really don't want to ruin the tone of the story with this silly arc.** _

_**SO I DELETED THE SHIT OUT OF IT.** _

 

_**If this arc ran, it would have been totally ridiculous. Seriously, I was even considering adding a murder plot. That was how wacky it was going to be.** _

_**But I'm actually really proud of this story... because, in 2016, I had a not so good grasp of grammar and could hardly write past thirty thousand words.** _

_**So guess what?** _

_**We're moving on straight to the epilogue.** _

_**I know I really built up good things about this arc, and for that, I sincerely apologised. But I'm running fumes now after more than 200,000 words of Kindergarten Bully. My muse for this is close to non existent now that the end result has been reached: They are together.** _

_**Thank you so much for supporting this story. If you read my first author's note for this fic, you would know that I never really intended to write further than the first chapter, until inspiration took a hold of me.** _

_**The world works in funny ways, doesn't it?** _

_**So now it's time to wrap things up...** _

_**Once more: Thank you.** _

_**I hope this makes up for my shitty decision.**_

_**P.S. Play the song while reading?** _

* * *

 

* * *

 

_Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination._

_— Drake_

* * *

Oikawa Tooru graduated at the top of his class, which, actually, came a surprise to Makoshima Naoko.

The graduation song was sung with great enthusiasm, and cheers erupted throughout the hall as the third years received their diplomas with the bow of a head.

The third year volleyball team members went for a night celebration after that, and it was discovered that Makoshima Tadashi could down two bottles of sake and still stand, even if he had to throw up his guts afterwards in the restaurant bathroom.

But he came back even stronger, just in time for Oikawa to lift a bottle up for a toast.

"To us!" he declared, clinking his own bottle with everyone else's.

"To us!" they echoed.

And although they all ended up shit-faced that evening, it was all worth it.

"You're going to get yourself killed one day," Naoko deadpanned as singlehandedly hauled both her brother and her boyfriend back to her home.

Oikawa merely laughed weakly. "Not if you're around. I may be drunk tonight, but I'll be sober tomorrow and you'll still be beautiful."

"You're incorrigible. I can't believe I let my brother join you in your stupid shenanigans," she reprimanded sharply.

"Naachan," Tadashi slurred, "I'm an adult nowww..."

"I know," Naoko said roughly, scowling even though she knew that they both couldn't see it. "If you weren't, I would have flayed you alive by now."

"I'm not an adult yet!" Oikawa piped.

"Which is why you should sleep with one eye open tonight."

"Ah, Mako-chaann..."

"What?"

"I think I'm going to throw up. On your hair. And your clothes."

She dropped him and he whined.

* * *

A year later, Naoko had her own graduation, and although it wasn't as eventful or wild as Oikawa's, it was still an experience to remember.

Oikawa had gone to study out of the prefecture in Tokyo, separating himself from Iwaizumi. She had been so sure that the pair would have stuck together after high school, but apparently not.

They still met up every weekend, and, more often than not, Naoko found herself joining them and bantering over a plate of milk bread.

Naoko had been worried about Sumire's transition to high school (Karasuno High, of course), but Kageyama's stepping up to the plate really made that transition smooth. More often than not, she found herself questioning Sumire's chastity, though the latter strongly denied her lack of it.

"You'd better not be screwing around," Naoko said to her one day in her usual blunt manner. "No sex until you're thirty. And married."

"What if I marry Tobio before then?" It was never a question of not marrying Kageyama, something that Naoko found great relief and anxiety in.

"Both requirements have to be fulfilled."

"What if I die before then?"

"Then you won't have to worry about it any longer."

Sumire wisely did not continue to argue her sister's ridiculous standards concerning her virginity.

(She lost it to him when she turned sixteen, much to Naoko's dismay).

* * *

Tadashi had chosen to stay in Miyagi to pursue his studies in becoming an oncologist, meaning that he could also look after Sumire (not that she needed much looking after in the first place).

With Tadashi staying behind to take care of things, it was time for Naoko to leave the nest and fly the coop.

Naturally, she followed Oikawa to Tokyo, where she found herself in the company of Kuroo Tetsuro, a bed-haired former volleyball captain with a knack of getting on her nerves. He was a friend of Oikawa's from university, and later became her friend as well, seeing as they all attended the same university and saw each other often on campus.

What surprised her, however, was when Kuroo showed up to a friendly gathering at her's and Oikawa's shared apartment one day with a very familiar face clinging to his arm.

"Makoshima?" Ryouta Rin blinked at Naoko for a good ten seconds.

"Ryouta," Naoko acknowledged, an eyebrow raised before turning to Kuroo. "Your girlfriend?"

Kuroo merely shrugged and grinned lazily. "Depends on the day."

Rin shot him a nasty glare before tightening her grip on his arm. "I know where you keep your savings. I _will_ burn them."

Oikawa let out a low whistle. "Alright, girls, you're both pretty, but there'll be no burning while we're in my apartment." He cocked an eyebrow at Kuroo. "One pyromaniac is enough."

"You attract the weirdest people," Naoko commented as they all sat around the table on soft mats.

Oikawa winked at her. "I know. That's why you love me, right?"

"Unfortunately."

That evening, Naoko and Rin managed to shove their differences aside and make up for lost time, despite not being friends in the past. The former concertmaster had changed a lot from her self-absorbed, petty self.

* * *

 

Perhaps Sumire was more like Oikawa than Naoko had first anticipated, because she too graduated at the top of her grade.

When she heard about her graduation, Naoko dropped everything and commuted back to Miyagi just to attend it. The pride that swelled in her heart was so immense that it threatened to wash her away.

After the ceremony, Naoko found Sumire in the crowd and gave her a big hug, now well versed in the nature of embraces thanks to Oikawa's coaching.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered, not caring that the small amount of tears that she shed smudged her mascara (Rin had forced her to start wearing makeup not long ago and Naoko had gotten into the habit of using it, if only lightly).

Sumire squeezed back, tears spilling out of her eyes and lip quivering. "It's all because of you. You and Tadashi and Tobio and everyone else who supported me. Otherwise, none of this would have been possible."

Oikawa also offered his congratulations to Sumire via video call.

"Congratulations, Mini-Mako!" he said, winking at her.

"Heh." Sumire grinned. "Thanks, Tooru-nii."

* * *

Naoko was in her final year of university a year later, Oikawa having graduated a year ago and was now working at a law firm. While he was no less interested in aliens, he was serious about pursuing a career in law.

They saw each other less thanks to their schooling and working hours, but they always had time for one another.

"Can we go to bed now?" Naoko asked, unable to fight off a yawn as she sunk into the couch tiredly. "This is the seventh movie in a row..."

"It's not called a movie marathon for nothing." Oikawa kissed her temple, brushing a few locks of hair behind her ear. Seeing that she was close to falling asleep, he nipped her earlobe between his teeth, causing her to startle.

She tutted. "Really? In front of Bruce Willis?" She gestured to the television, unimpressed by his advances.

"I'm sure he won't mind," Oikawa purred into her ear, tugging on the waistband of her shorts, his thumb brushing over her navel.

Naoko didn't resist when he slipped his tongue into her mouth, moaning softly. "... Fine."

Then the phone rang.

"Fuck, don't go," Oikawa pleaded when Naoko pushed him off to answer whoever was calling. "Naokoooo... Don't blueball me now!"

It was too late. Oikawa's hardened member was left unattended to as Naoko struck up a conversation with the other person on the phone.

"La Scala? Really, Akane-kins? And you and Anzu are flying off to Italy tomorrow?"

The talk continued for a good fifteen minutes before Naoko rejoined him on the couch. She looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

"You took too long," he pouted.

"Apologies." Smirking, Naoko boldly slipped her hand into his boxers. "Better?"

"... Better."

* * *

Now, Kuroo, his hair in his usual bedhead style that somehow also deserved to be featured in a shampoo commercial, was sighing and sipping his coffee, an eyebrow raised in Oikawa's direction.

"Bro. Just do it. No point in putting it off any longer. It's like getting a needle, you know? Or a cavity removed."

"You're not making me feel any better," Oikawa told him. "What if she says no?"

"She's not going to say no," Kuroo reassured him, "Naoko loves you way too much for that. Besides, didn't you tell me that you've already discussed marriage?"

"We were in _high school_!"

"Does the fact that you were horny teenagers make it mean any less?"

Oikawa spluttered, "Well, no—"

"Then what's the big deal?" Kuroo sighed again, knitting his fingers together and frowning contemplatively. "Okay, in the very rare event that she does say no, the only thing to do would be to man up and deal with it. Give her a few more years."

"I feel like I've waited long enough," Oikawa confessed, his voice slightly strained, as if the thought of waiting any longer to propose was strangling him.

Kuroo calmly downed the rest of his coffee, smacking his lips. "Don't you think she has too?"

* * *

"Why so down?" Midori asked when Naoko hopped into her car. The green-haired woman was driving Naoko from the airport back to her apartment. Naoko had just gotten back from a four day trip in Italy to see Akane and Anzu dance together in Milan.

"No reason," Naoko answered impassively, pursing her lips, which was shiny with lip balm. She had never taken to lipstick or lip liner. "I suppose after shitting around for four days straight, settling into your routine again can be tedious."

"Ah, I get what you mean," Midori said, nodding. "I was like that too. Yeesh, time sure flies by, am I right? I can't believe that I'm turning twenty four this year!"

Still twenty two, Naoko smiled. "Yeah..."

"At least you get to see Oikawa again. You must be pretty happy about that, right?"

"Of course." Naoko frowned. Oikawa had definitely been avoiding her a few days, making up all sorts of excuses to quickly end whatever conversations they had on the phone. _What's his problem? Does he not want to see me anymore or something?_ If that was the case, she'd appreciate it more if he stopped fluffing around and just made it quick and painless by saying it out loud.

They arrived at her (and Oikawa's) apartment half an hour later, and Midori waved her goodbye before zooming off. Naoko only had one suitcase to lug into the elevator, so she was fine.

When she entered their home, Oikawa was nowhere to be seen. No surprise there. He knew that she was arriving today and yet...

Naoko shook her head, steeling herself. _Nothing lasts forever, I guess_. Sadness and self-pity pricked at her heart, but she refused to let it consume her. But since she was alone...

She pulled out her phone and dialled her sister's number. Sumire was eighteen now and attending a university not too far from here.

"Hey," she said flatly, "I'm back."

 _"You don't sound too happy about it,"_ Sumire noted, the background noise becoming nigh unbearable to Naoko's ears.

"Where the hell are you right now? Why is it so loud?"

_"J-just outside! It's good that you called because I want to meet up with you this afternoon! Back... home. In Miyagi."_

"What?"

 _"Yeah, that's totally not suspicious at all,"_ a familiar voice drawled.

 _"Please, nee-chan, just do it!"_ Sumire shouted over the voice.

"Was that Kuroo?" Naoko demanded. But Sumire was still pleading her to meet up. "Sumire, answer me!"

_"Sorry, can't talk, later! I'll text you the meeting spot!"_

Naoko scowled at the phone. _First Tooru and now this... I'd better not regret this_. Though she just got back, she grabbed her coat and went outside, taking her keys, wallet, and phone with her. The walk to the Tokyo train station was not far from here.

As Sumire had promised, a text soon came and Naoko frowned at it. "One o'clock at the old cherry blossom tree...?"

* * *

Sumire sighed in relief, putting her hands over her heart before glaring at Kuroo. "Nice going! You couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?"

Kuroo put his hands up in a surrendering position. "Well, sorry. But you were acting like a total nervous wreck."

"Can we not talk about nerves right now?" Oikawa snapped, his glasses slightly skewed on his face.

"Don't you have a train to catch, lover boy?" Kuroo reminded him.

Oikawa cursed. "Shit, you're right! I'll see you later! Hopefully as an engaged man!" With that, he ran to the train station.

"Avoid her at all costs until you get there!" Sumire shouted after him before sinking into her seat. "Sheesh... he's lucky I happened to be passing by today."

Kuroo chuckled. "Hopefully for him, that luck won't run out."

* * *

Oikawa felt and probably looked like a complete mess as he tried to seem casual while standing awkwardly by the old cherry blossom tree, the one Naoko loved so much.

She had shown him there a few times, and they had spent one of their summers coming back here every week to relax the day away underneath the tree's shade.

He could feel the bulge of the ring box in his pants pocket, and that feeling only made his nerves even more shot than they already were.

"Tooru? What are you doing here?" Naoko approached him, having strolled from the train station at a leisurely pace while Oikawa had run.

"Oh. Mako-chan." Oikawa breathed out a sigh. "You're here... good. I-I need to, ah, tell you something." _Fuck me sideways, I'm already screwing this up._

 _So this is it_ , Naoko thought, _I really should have seen this coming._ Oikawa Tooru had finally grown tired of her. She lowered her gaze, feeling cold on the inside despite it being summer.

"Do you remember when we got together? Five years ago?"

Naoko snapped her head up. "What."

"We talked about," he paused, "Marriage."

"I remember," she said cautiously, her brows knitting together in a small frown. "You said you loved me. The I want to marry you kind of love. You said you were going to marry me." Much to her ire, her voice grew smaller, her words nearly sticking to her throat like flies to honey.

Oikawa subtly slipped his hand into his pocket, palming the ring box, his hands too clammy for his liking.

"I know," he said softly. "I made you a promise that day, Naoko. And..."

Naoko's world stopped. Stopped then started again.

"... I would never go back on my word." Feeling as if his voice would crack if he kept going, he cleared his throat first. "I told you I was going to marry you. Naoko."

Whatever she had been about to say next never made it out as he shakily got to one knee and produced the ring box. Strangers walking in the park stopped to stare, a woman with a pram getting her camera out. A man with a balding head cracked a smile, and two teenagers whooped.

"I—shit—" He cursed quietly. "Naoko, I told you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And I still do." Oikawa swallowed. "So will you—will you marry me?"

Suddenly, Naoko's world blurred with tears as her heart exploded, and she lifted her hand to wipe them away before stopping, deciding to let them stay. "Tooru—" She hiccuped unintentionally, tears slipping down her face in a slow trail. She took a deep shuddering breath, composing herself. "Yes. Yes, Tooru, I will." There was no hesitation in her voice.

A genuine smile made its way up Oikawa's face as he slipped the ring on her finger, and the background noise buzzed even louder. Instead of snow, this time there were cherry blossom petals, drifting lazily in the air and falling lightly upon their shoulders.

Naoko stared at the ring on her finger for a few seconds before tackling Oikawa in a hug, holding him tightly and crying softly into his shoulder, something she had never done in all those five years.

He'd been right.

Things _did_ get better.

Oikawa—no, _Tooru_ —was living proof of that.

* * *

It was a well known proverb that pictures spoken a thousand words. If these frozen images on the cabinet were to suddenly gain a voice, they would indeed have that much and more to say.

Days of childhood and adolescence were captured by Mizushima Tsubaki and put into those frames.

One of them was the ever familiar group photo that had been taken on the day of Tadashi's twentieth birthday.

It was still the same after all these years—Kageyama and Hinata's argument frozen in time; Mattsun and Makki's victory signs, Sumire and Tadashi's smile; and Tooru with his arms around the shoulders of two of the most precious people in the world to him: Iwaizumi and Naoko. All of them had laughter in their eyes.

There were many more photos that all told their own stories, but the newest was one of Tooru and Naoko standing in a white dress and a black tuxedo. Naoko's smile in the photo was the biggest it had ever been compared to the other pictures, and Tooru's smile the most sincere and warm.

Iwaizumi stood a little behind Tooru—the best man. Sumire flanked Naoko on the other side—the maid of honor.

It hadn't been a very fancy wedding; the photo had been taken outside. Another new one was a photo with all of their friends in the frame, some of them making silly faces. Anzu and Akane, Midori and Ayame, Makki and Mattsun, Hinata and Kageyama, Toshio and Leiko and even the quiet Shinji—they were all there.

However, this particular photo hung on the wall so the owners of the house could see it every day.

"Where is it... oh, there!" A twenty-six year old Tooru grinned to himself triumphantly as he discovered what he had been looking for: his glasses, which had been sitting amongst the photos on top of the cabinet.

"Hurry up, Tooru!" Naoko's voice sounded from outside, over the steady hum of a car. "Or we're going to be late for Sumire's wedding!"

"Coming~!" he called back, still smiling as he put on his spectacles before leaving the house, closing the door behind him with one final click.

* * *

  _fin_


	56. Deleted Chapters: Cho's Reward Revealed!

**_A/N: Here. *throws* Have some more Naoko/Oikawa fluff._ **

* * *

 

_Once people come to Australia, they join the team._

_— Tony Abbott_

* * *

 

Charlene Cho sighed to herself, spinning a fountain pen absently in her fingers. Deciding that what she was going to do next was not worth running such an expensive pen, she put it aside in favor of a click pen.

 _How mundane_ , she thought, clicking the pen repeatedly and blowing a lock of hair out of her face.

She was supposed to have been driven to an exclusive photo shoot today, but that'd been cancelled thanks to miscellaneous reasons, including the excuse that the head photographer had broken his leg falling down a flight of stairs.

How silly was that? And now Cho was left with nothing to do other than to sit at her desk and look professional. Yes, she'd really stooped that low.

She pulled out her phone out of her pocket, not really expecting much. Her inbox was totally clear with no unread messages. How boring...

Suddenly, her phone began to ring in her hand, and she nearly dropped it as she startled. This was her personal phone—who could it be? Her heart nearly stopped when she read the name associated with the mysterious number. Then she smiled. Finally, she had something to do!

Nearly trembling with excitement, she swiped to accept the call and put the caller on speaker.

"Cho speaking," she said merrily.

 _"Cho-san,"_ Makoshima Naoko's voice buzzed through the phone. _"If you don't remember who I am, don't be alarmed—"_

"Oh, I'm not alarmed!" Cho exclaimed, grinning even though she knew Naoko wouldn't be able to see it. "Say, why don't we continue this conversation over lunch? I'm really very bored right now and I'm currently in my office in Miyagi. You pick the location."

Naoko muttered something unintelligible, obviously having a bit of trouble keeping up with all the sharp turns this conversation was taking.

Eventually, Naoko answered, _"Is the Marsbucks at J-Mall okay?"_ Cho could guess that Naoko had been about to protest the idea of having lunch with the rising star, but had thought better of it.

"It sounds like a fine place," Cho assured her, "I've been meaning to try out the chocolate and coffee blend cake they serve."

_"If you want to drink something, I highly recommend the Mocha-Matcha Blitz."_

"Thanks for the recommendation! What time would suit you?"

_"Would you be able to do an hour from now?"_

"Yes, that's fine. I'll see you in an hour, Nao-chan. You don't mind if I call you Nao-chan, do you?"

_"No, it's alright. I'm used to it..."_

After hanging up, Cho felt like a new person. _If she wants to talk about what I think she wants to talk about, then I'm going to have to make more phone calls. I hope Mrs. Rochford won't mind. The old bird is still in holiday mode, not that I can blame her. It is still the summer holidays back home._

* * *

 

When Charlene Cho hung up, Naoko breathed out a small sigh and leaned back in her chair. She was still in her pyjamas, it being Saturday. She had already called Oikawa to tell him that she was opting out of their morning jog today just to sleep in a little.

 _How lazy of me... but I won't deny that it's nice_.

She had a feeling that Oikawa was still a tad upset and wanted to be left alone for a while anyway, though he was slowly becoming his old self again. _I'll go and check on him later._

It'd been a week since Aobajosai faced Karasuno in the nationals and lost. A week of Naoko visiting Oikawa's home after school and watching television and eating dango and milk bread with him in between kisses and hugs and just plain old being there for him.

 _He worked so hard but they lost anyway_ , Naoko thought, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. Which brings me to... this. The ultimate cheer up that she had thought of. She was counting on Cho not leaving her out to dry on this one, because if the star had been telling the truth back at the Sendai Standoff, Naoko knew that Oikawa's mood would be back to normal. _Dumb chihuahua, making me care so much about him..._ She couldn't help but smile, though, at the thought of him. _... The amount of joy he makes me feel should be illegal_.

Naoko got out of her chair and stretched, popping her shoulders and back before heading upstairs to get changed and freshen up.

She returned downstairs a few minutes later, decked out in the ensamble that Anzu had bought for her, seeing as it was the most appealing thing she owned. She didn't really care what Cho—superstar or not—thought about her, but it would just be polite to show up looking decent.

Now that they were in early to mid-January, the snowfall had lessened and the climate and environment were more or less back to what it had been in autumn, albeit a much colder version.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for the bus, and she was soon on her way downtown to J-Mall.

 _Cho... she made it clear that there would only be two tickets available. She must have thought Sumire was my only sibling._ There was no way she'd up and leave with one sibling while the other stayed behind. Now that Tadashi was twenty, however, she was sure that she could entrust Sumire to him for two weeks without it being a hassle for him. _And since there was the matter of that extra ticket..._

Oikawa, of course, had been the perfect candidate to be its taker.

The bus arrived at her stop, and she a bunch of other passengers filed out of the bus in a disorganized line.

J-Mall itself was warm on the inside, which was a totally welcomed feeling. She strode briskly down to Marsbucks, where she could envision Cho tapping her foot impatiently while delicately taking bites out of the coffee chocolate cake she wanted to try so badly.

Today wasn't particularly busy for Marsbucks, but there was still a steady trickle of customers coming in and out, Naoko being one of those people.

She glanced around, but could find no one bearing any resemblance to Cho. She must not be here yet. Naoko looked down at her wristwatch. She was seven minutes early so it was fair enough. She'd just have to sit around for a while. Maybe order a Mocha-Matcha Blitz. Yeah, she was craving one, so why not?

Seven minutes later, Naoko found herself being approached by a strange person wearing shades, a hat, and a white surgeon's mask. She narrowed her eyes, thinking of Midori's disguise. _Talk about déjà vu..._ "Cho-san?" she said hesitantly but politely.

Cho peeled off the mask and took of her hat and shades. "You called?" she returned jokingly. "It's good to see you again, Nao-chan."

"Likewise, Cho-san." Naoko's eyes widened slightly when Cho reached across the table and socked her playfully on the shoulder, laughing.

"You're so formal!" Cho exclaimed, shaking her head. "Please call me Charlene! Please?"

Naoko hesitated before nodding once. "Okay... Charlene." The English name rolled off her tongue a bit strangely but it was nothing too major. _It almost sounds like she's trying to be my friend. Is she?_

"That's better. Now what was that you recommended me again? The Mocha Blitz or something?"

"The Mocha-Matcha Blitz," Naoko replied, feeling more at ease now that Cho wasn't being as pushy as before. "It's what I'm having right now, actually."

"You look like you have a good taste in food." Cho winked. "I'll treat you to another one. Heck, I'll treat you to this whole lunch. You could buy out the whole store for all I care."

Naoko faltered. "Cho-san, I can't expect you to pay for everything—"

"Nonsense!" Cho dismissed her concerns with the wave of a hand. "And you just called me Cho-san again, which means I'm definitely making this my treat. Don't you worry your pretty little head, Nao-chan. And call me Charlene! Now what do you want to eat?"

Naoko was about to protest again when her stomach rumbled loudly. "... A spinach and feta roll, please." She paused. "Actually, make that three. Plus another Mocha-Matcha Blitz."

Cho smirked. "Now that's more like it. I'll get you a slice of the coffee and chocolate blend cake as well since it's on special today."

When Naoko had devoured two out of three of her spinach and feta rolls, and Cho had eaten more than half of her cake, the latter started to talk business.

"So," Cho began, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "I'm assuming you called me here to talk about what I offered you back at the Standoff?"

 _Actually, you called me here, not the other way around_ , Naoko thought with a twinge of annoyance. But she kept her cool mask on her face, unwilling to let the woman's antics get to her so easily. Cho had insisted on doing this face to face over lunch when it could have been done over a simple phone call. At least she had paid for everything. "I am," Naoko replied evenly, sitting up straighter. "Is the offer still open?"

"Of course. Anyway, you and a guest of your choice will be staying at my very own childhood home." Cho smiled. "I was going to pay for a hotel, but I decided that this is the better alternative." The firmness of her voice left no room for argument. "The house's caretaker, Mrs. Rochford—or Rochford-san, if you will—will be looking after you during your two week stay. Which brings me to my next point. Are you fluent in English, Nao-chan?"

"Mm... somewhat," Naoko replied carefully.

"Okay, I'll test you then." Cho cleared her throat before changing her internal language dial to English. _"Do you understand me?"_

"Yes," Naoko replied in Japanese.

_"Reply in English, please."_

Naoko pressed her lips in a thin line before answering, _"Is this better?"_

_"Quite. How has your day been so far, Naoko?"_

_"Good... the... food you treated me to was delicious."_

_"I see. I'm glad that you think so. Do you come to Marsbucks often?"_

_"No, not really. It was just..."_ Naoko searched for the word. _"Convenient."_

Cho beamed before saying in Japanese, "Okay, that's enough. You've got quite a good if basic grasp of English, so you should be able to survive two weeks. You'll still be attending school in those two weeks, of course, and if I remember correctly, the high school I used to go to—the one I'm sending you to—offers a Japanese class course for students. So you may find that a few are quite fluent in Japanese. Who's the plus one you're bringing? Your sister, I assume?"

"No," Naoko told her, "I actually have a brother at home and it'd be unfair to leave him behind. I'm not taking either of them, nor do they want to go. I've spoken with them about it already."

Cho cocked an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "Then who _are_ you taking?"

"My boyfriend, Tooru." She'd be tempted to say 'fiancé', considering that they had talked about marriage when they got together, but they weren't technically engaged so that went out the window. Naoko smiled wryly. "After... losing at nationals, I think a trip to get away from it all is just what he needs." She paused. "What we both need."

"How sweet," Cho cooed, her red painted lips curling up in a smile. "Very well, everything will be arranged. I'll give you a ring when I have everything ready; plane tickets, student exchange forms... you know the drill."

Actually, Naoko didn't, having never been outside of the country before. But she didn't say that, for Cho was giving her one of her smiles again.

"Ah, Nao-chan," Cho said a sigh, a gleam entering her eyes. "I can already tell that you're going to love Australia."

* * *

 

Naoko raised an eyebrow as she entered Oikawa's house using the spare key that he had given her, the first she saw being Oikawa lounging on the couch and watching television.

"Let me guess," Naoko said as she took off her shoes, "Cowboys and Aliens?"

"Nope." Oikawa grinned at her and sat up, allowing her to sit on his lap before looping his arms around her and hugging her like a child would their favorite plush toy. "Independence Day."

"Eh. Close enough."

Oikawa rested his chin on her head. "Mako-chaaan... you have no taste in movies." He was wearing a white shirt with blue sleeves that had an alien print on the front, and tan shorts. "Cowboys and Aliens is about..." He started to ramble about what happened in the movie while Naoko blissfully tuned out. "... You're not listening, are you."

"Iwaizumi gave me a few tips on dealing with your alien fanboy rants. His words, not mine."

Oikawa grumbled and flopped to the side, carrying Naoko with him, their legs now tangled together. "I want to punch him now. But then he would punch back harder."

"I'd pay to see that." Naoko pressed her right cheek against his chest, listening to the comforting thump of his heartbeat. "Are you... feeling better?" she asked as the alien spaceship on screen razed down another city.

"Mm," Oikawa mumbled into her ear. "I've had enough nights to cry about it."

"I know. I was there," Naoko said rather flatly.

"You're so good to hug." He squeezed her even tighter, Naoko blushing slightly as his arms inadvertently pushed against her breasts. "And I paid you back by getting snot all over your hair. Sorry."

"It's fine. Sometimes... I guess we all need a good cry."

"Hah, says you!" Oikawa laughed, his chest rumbling. "I've only seen you cry once. And that time... anyone would, really. But you don't cry about anything else."

She shrugged, or as much as she could in his arms. "Different people react to different things. Which reminds me... do you remember when Cho Charlene approached me during the Standoff?"

"Yeah." He harrumphed. "And you never told me what she wanted, even though you said you would, Naachan."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm telling you now, aren't I? It was a trip for two to Australia in two weeks, the accomodation being her childhood home. Think of it as an exchange program, since school is still on."

"Australia?" Oikawa echoed. "You mean the place with those... kangaroos, was it?" He had to search for the Japanese equivalent for the English word denoting the Australian marsupial. "And koalas?"

"Mhm."

"Trip for two? In Cho Charlene's home? In _Australia_?"

Naoko snorted. "What are you, a parrot? That's what I said, isn't it?"

Oikawa gave a tiny smirk. "And, let me guess, you want me to come?"

"It would be the best option," Naoko admitted. "I don't particularly want to go to a strange country by myself."

"Fair enough." He kissed her temple. "I can't let my future wife wander around in a foreign island without me."

"Tsk. Don't make it sound like you're doing me a favor, dumb chihuahua."

"Aww, oyster-chan, but I am." Oikawa sighed dramatically and pouted. "But I guess if you're too stubborn—"

"Start packing, asshole."

* * *

 

"Gah!"

A blonde girl with big, blue eyes turned to the Chinese Malaysian girl that had just cried out, nearly hitting her head against the window.

"You okay?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, um, I'm fine. I just zoned out... and had this crazy vision. Don't worry, Taylor."

As Taylor left her alone to talk to the rest of their friends, only one thought ran through the Chinese Malaysian girl's mind.

_No way in hell am I going to interfere with the plot._

 


	57. Deleted Chapters: Welcome to Australia!

_Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes._

_— Jim Carrey_

* * *

 

"Repeat after me," Naoko coached, _"My name is Takeru and I am nine."_

Oikawa's nephew, who had been dropped off at Oikawa's apartment by Hotaru, scrunched up his nose before attempting to repeat the sentence in English. _"Mai... nam... is... Takeru... an... I am... none."_ The only word he said properly was his own name, making Naoko smile fondly.

"Close enough," she praised, knowing how hard it must be for a child who had ever only spoken Japanese to enunciate those difficult English words.

Oikawa entered the living room, a bag of unopened chips in his hand as he plopped next to his girlfriend on the couch. "You're a terrible teacher, Mako-chan."

"Thank you, Tooru, for your minimal contribution to my day," Naoko said dryly.

"Your welcome, _dear_." He winked and stuck out his tongue at her. "I don't see the point of trying to teach this brat," he jabbed his thumb at Takeru, who puffed out his cheeks indignantly, "English, though." Oikawa yawned. "He's too stupid."

"Hey!" Takeru yelled.

Naoko raised an eyebrow. "I can see who he takes after then."

"First of all, rude. Second of all, rude."

"I can do it!" Takeru insisted. _"Mai namish Takeru an Iam nynah!"_

"Sorry, what, I don't speak stupid," Oikawa said loudly, leaning across Naoko to be closer to Takeru.

"I thought it was the only language you knew," Takeru shot back, glaring.

"Pot, meet kettle," Naoko said tonelessly.

"Your insults are as old fashioned as you are, grandma."

"What was that, Tooru? I couldn't hear you over that yapping dog. Oh, wait..." Naoko shot him a sly grin as he pouted at her before tossing one arm around her shoulder.

"You're lucky I love you," he told her. "Or else I'd let you get mauled by a drop bear when we get to Australia."

"Get a room," Takeru complained. "And what's a drop bear?"

"That's what I want to know," Naoko added, raising an eyebrow. "I thought the only type of bear they had over there was the koala..."

When Oikawa finished his long-winded explanation about the supposed existence of drop bears, Naoko had only one thing to say.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Koalas that drop out of trees to eat you...?"

"Actually, drop bears are not koalas, they're its distant cousin," Oikawa corrected her matter-of-factly. "I'll give you a tip. Smear Vegemite on your armpits and you'll scare them off."

"I... I don't know what to say. I really don't know what to say."

Oikawa flashed her a smirk. "'I love you, Tooru, and you're amazing' will do just fine."

"I'll pass."

Takeru cleared his throat. "I don't mean to interrupt the love fest, but can we watch a different movie? I've watched Lilo and Stitch thousands of times!"

"Nope!" Oikawa denied his request cheerfully.

Naoko gave Oikawa a sidelong glance. "You only chose it because it has aliens, didn't you?"

"Ah, Mako-chan." He held her even closer and meshed his cheek against her, though Naoko's face remained in her neutral deadpan expression. "You know me so well."

"Mm."

"... Can I take a selfie with you?"

" _Another_ one?"

"Please?"

"...Fine."

Takeru protested again but eventually contented himself by rolling his eyes and turning back to the TV.

With their cheeks still pressed together, Oikawa grinned and held up the peace sign to the phone camera, which he held in his other hand after removing his arm from Naoko's shoulders.

"Smile," he said, even though he knew that Naoko probably wouldn't heed his words. He was correct in his assumption—she didn't, keeping her face neutral. Oikawa contented himself with her expression though, and was about to press his thumb down on the button to take the picture when Naoko lifted her hand into the frame in a half-hearted peace sign.

Oikawa's smile fell off his face and his eyes darted to her as he gave her an incredulous look.

"Just do it," Naoko grumbled, a muscle in her jaw twitching.

The grin quickly returned to Oikawa's lips and he finally took the photo, instantly checking how it looked right after.

"What do you think?" Oikawa asked.

"It looks exactly like the other selfies we took together." Naoko plucked the phone from his hands and went through his photo gallery, looking bored. Then her sharp gaze caught something. Narrowing her grey eyes, she tapped on the photo and turned it to Oikawa. "Explain."

"Hm?" Oikawa turned and immediately paled. "Oh. That." _Fuck! I thought I deleted it!_

It was the photo that Anzu had forwarded to him last year, the one with Naoko in that sexy Santa outfit.

"... Are you mad?" Oikawa inquired lamely.

"Did you jack off to it?"

Oikawa spluttered. "Mako-chan!"

Takeru gave them a brief glance before turning back to the movie.

"Then what did you use it for?" Naoko asked, her voice steely.

"... Nothing much." He blushed, averting her gaze. "I liked... to look at it. A lot. Anzu sent it to me and... I just kept it there."

She scoffed. "Tch." Naoko threw his phone onto his lap. "So that's what she meant by helping me... You're a horny nineteen year old boy. You should make better use of that."

Naoko could practically hear the gears in his brain working as he considered her words.

Then his face went tomato red and he hid in his hands, blushing furiously. "You are one of the crudest people I've ever met in my life."

"Get used to it." She threw him a smirk. "Because you're spending the rest of your life with me."

"I know, I know." Oikawa turned off his phone and placed it on the coffee table before pulling Naoko onto him, so that she sat comfortably on his thighs. "I honestly can't imagine you as a housewife."

"Good," she said, resting her head in the soft spot between his neck and shoulder, "that makes two of us. By the way, have you started packing yet?"

"Eheh... no."

"We're leaving in three days, Tooru," she reminded him, frowning slightly.

"And I'll get to it," he placated her. Oikawa hugged her closer and kissed her forehead. "But for now... let's just enjoy this."

"... Mmkay."

"Hey, I'm still here, you know!" Takeru protested.

Oikawa responded by placing his palm against his head and pushing.

* * *

 

"Kill me now, I am about to embarrass myself in front of two native Japanese people," a girl with dyed red hair spoke into the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose. Christine Hu was definitely not amused as Ms. Wu drove her to the airport to pick up the two exchange students arriving today.

 _"You'll be fine, Chris,"_ the boy on the other end reassured her. _"You've been taking Jap for what, four years now? You might as well be a Japanese person. And if you do mess up... well, you suck."_

"Gee, thanks, David, I feel so loved."

_"Anytime!"_

Chris laughed before Ms. Wu drove into Sydney Airport's main car park. "Oh, we've reached the airport. Talk to you later."

She hung up just as Ms. Wu found a suitable parking space and parked.

"Phew, we made it!" Ms. Wu passed her hand through her hair and turned back to grin and Chris. "Are you excited?"

"Well, yeah." Chris got out of the car, shutting the door behind her. "But I'm also worried that I'll suck."

"Oh, you'll be fine," Ms. Wu told her, repeating what David had told Chris without realizing. "Don't worry too much about it. It's like getting a needle—it's the wait before that's really terrifying. Mrs. Huang chose you as the Student Ambassador for a reason, Chris. She's not the head teacher of LOTE for no reason."

Chris cringed. _Student Ambassador. Ugh, I almost forgot._ "Miss... I think you somehow made me even more nervous than before." _I'm so screwed. Why didn't Mrs. Huang pick Angeline instead?! She's so much better at Jap than me!_

"Ahh, I'm sorry!" Mrs. Wu laughed nervously. "Forget everything I said then!" Ms. Wu was young and pretty, her hair dyed a nice shade of brown-red; she often caught the attention of some of the male students, despite having a fiancé. "If it makes you feel any better, you got an eighteen out of twenty on this week's speaking test."

"Only eighteen...?" Chris hung her head, and Ms. Wu, flustered, immediately tried to comfort her by telling her that it was a good mark. "Well, at least I passed..."

Ms. Wu opened up the boot of the car and removed a sign for Chris to hold, the last names of their exchange students written on the white canvas. "Here—oop, don't drop it!"

The pair made their way to the arrival hall, dodging cars and travellers with the bulkiest luggage on the bulkiest trolleys.

Despite it being mid-summer in Australia, it was quite a chilly evening, it being six o'clock. The sun hadn't set yet, thankfully, and the sky was pink and orange.

Chris was nervously fiddling with the sign, feeling like she was getting her dirty fingerprints all over the white surface. Exhaling, she wiped her palms in her jeans. _It'll be fine. They won't eat me alive. They won't. I... think._

"Chris, you're holding the sign upside down. And back to front," Ms. Wu informed her with a sweatdrop. _She's more nervous than I originally thought._

"Oh. Dammit." Chris readjusted the sign, correctly this time.

Teacher and student watched as a steady stream of passengers flooded out, all of them looking worse for wear with their stained clothing, eye bags, and greasy hair.

In a way, those people kind of reminded her of her boyfriend, David. She snickered to herself, remembering the time he had tried to serenade her by playing her a meme song in a food court with his kazoo. _I wonder if destroying my eardrums counts as a sign of an abusive relationship_ , she thought wryly.

Chris continued to painstakingly hold the sign up, wondering what was taking these exchange students so long. They'd been standing in the same spot for nearly half an hour now.

 _"Mako-chan, look, over there! Our names are on that sign!"_ Chris narrowed her eyes as a tall and very handsome brunet boy not so subtly pointed at her, beaming. Unlike the rest of the passengers, he unfairly looked like he had just stepped out of a photo shoot with BTS or something.

 _"Stop that, you dumb chihuahua. You're scaring her,"_ the black-haired girl said in Japanese, slapping his hand down. While she was by no means noticeably attractive like the boy, she was definitely an Asian beauty to consider, even with her greasy black hair piled on top of her head in a bun.

_"Don't be jealous, Mako-chan, green isn't your color!"_

_"Jealous? Who do you think I am?"_

The pair reached Chris and Ms. Wu, ceasing their bantering to acknowledge them.

 _"Hello!"_ Ms. Wu greeted in Japanese, smiling sincerely and shaking their hands. _"Welcome to Australia! We're here on behalf of Hill's Village Technological High School, where you'll be schooling for two weeks. I'm Wu-sensei and this is Hill's Village's Student Ambassador, Christine-san."_

 _"It's nice to meet you, Wu-sensei,"_ the brunet boy said rather cheerfully, shaking her hand before letting the black-haired girl shake her hand as well. _"I have a feeling that we're going to like it here. I'm Oikawa Tooru."_

 _"Makoshima Naoko,"_ the girl said, giving them a short nod.

Oikawa turned to Chris, who shirked away slightly, mostly due to his intimidating height. He was even taller than Isaac, who was the tallest in her friend group.

 _Sheesh_ , she thought, _I thought that Asians were supposed to be short...! Or maybe that's just me._ At least Naoko looked less intimidating, even if she didn't seem to express much emotion as she spoke to Ms. Wu. The girl's eyes were hard, her voice icy. But she was around Chris' height—that had to count for something, right?

It was only then that she realized that she had been zoning out and he was waiting to shake her hand. "S-sorry," she stammered out in English, feeling like she wanted to smack herself for her carelessness. She clumsily added in Japanese as she shook his hand, _"My name is Chris."_

 _"Don't worry about it~"_ Oikawa's voice carried a teasing undertone to it, which made Chris feel even more uncomfortable. She could tell that this guy was used to getting what he wanted. _"It's a normal reaction for girls. Unless you're Mako-chan."_

Oikawa was speaking faster than Chris could keep up, so she merely nodded stiffly, hoping that agreeing would get her out of this already spiralling mess of an introduction.

 _"Oi."_ Naoko, having broken out of conversation with Ms. Wu, whacked Oikawa's arm painfully. _"Stop being such an asshat to her. I know you speak perfect English from all those business trips your parents used to drag you along to."_

 _"Oww! Mean, Mako-chan. You always spoil my fun."_ Oikawa pouted at her, and she raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. _"Fine, fine. I'm sorry, Chris-chan."_

"It's... fine," Chris said awkwardly, forgetting to speak Japanese.

"Sorry about him," Naoko said, switching to English. "He can get unbearable at times."

"And yet, you still put up with me," Oikawa said, winking at her.

"Alright, well, if we're all done here, I'll show you to the car," Ms. Wu said in an effort to diffuse the tension. "This way, guys."

Neither Oikawa or Naoko had enough bags to need a trolley—they only had backpacks and a pull along suitcase each—so the four managed to avoid to trolley traffic.

"So, uh," Chris started, figuring that, as Student Ambassador, she should probably become friendlier with the exchange students. "How are you finding Australia so far...?"

"Considering we've only been outside of the terminal for five minutes, we can't exactly judge," Naoko answered politely, if not a bit coldly.

"Ahaha!" Chris laughed, but neither of them followed her example. "Yeah..." It was then that she noticed that they were holding hands, their fingers intertwined. "Oh! Are you two... together?"

"Yep," Oikawa said rather shamelessly, "If you were interested, sorry—"

_"Dumb chihuahua, not every girl you meet is interested in you."_

"Uh, I have a boyfriend..." Chris sweatdropped. "And, no offence, even if I didn't, I still wouldn't, um, you know... go after your... type."

"Oh? And here I thought I was everyone's type," Oikawa hummed.

"Um..." Chris honestly wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Sorry...?"

"Don't apologize to him," Naoko advised bluntly, "You'll make him worse."

_"Mako-chaaaan!"_

_"Dumb chihuahua! We're guests here!"_

Ms. Wu giggled. "Well, Hill's Village is certainly in for a ride."

"Tell me about it," Chris said heavily as they reached the car. "I just hope that I don't have to deal with it." It was a lost cause of a wish, honestly, seeing as she was Student Ambassador. If she had to accompany Ms. Wu to pick them up, she'd probably be responsible for their behaviour at school as well. Don't have to deal with it, indeed!

When the two fell asleep in the car thanks to their uncomfortable flight, Chris was just glad that she didn't have to deal with them anymore for tonight.

* * *

 

Mrs. Rochford like to consider herself a very important woman, seeing as she was the caretaker of Charlene Cho's childhood home, a place that carried no little amount of sentimental value to the rising star.

So when two groggy Japanese teenagers set foot into the house, Mrs. Rochford was far from pleased. But still, she was under orders to look after them, and she would adhere to them.

"Good evening, children," Mrs. Rochford greeted them in her best Japanese. "You may call me Rochford-san. I'll be taking care of you during your stay, Makoshima-san; Oikawa-san."

"Thank you, Rochford-san," Naoko said politely, dipping her head shallowly in a show of respect.

By the time they got settled in and unpacked, it was nearing ten o'clock... in Australia time.

"Movie?" Oikawa suggested, their body clocks still telling them that it was eight o'clock. He listed off a bunch of movie names, all of them involving aliens one way or another.

"If you want." There was only one bed, which made Naoko wonder what they would have done if they weren't in a relationship. Then again, she probably wouldn't have given him the extra ticket if that were the case. "Just don't make it shitty."

"When is anything that I choose shitty? My taste in films is so amazing that I sometimes astound myself," Oikawa bragged as he plopped down on the bed with her.

"No comment."

"Mako-chan, so rude all the time..." He turned on the TV, and they were immediately greeted by two men talking to each other in English.

_"Mark, what if I really did kill Hamish?"_

_"You didn't, Tyler, there was no way you could have!"_ Mark began listing off the reasons why Tyler didn't kill Hamish, making Oikawa raise an eyebrow.

"Ohohoho~ What's this? A murder show?" He pressed a button on the remote and the information tab popped up. "Neighbours. Huh, okay. This actually seems worthwhile."

"... I only understand half the things they're saying," Naoko admitted. "Are there any Japanese subtitles?"

"Let me see..."

There were, and Oikawa found them in seconds flat, which was quite impressive as he had never navigated anything with this strange remote until now.

"Thank you."

"Do I get a kiss?"

"Maybe later."

He stole one from her anyway.

* * *

 

**_A/N: Chris is a real person. She even has a YouTube channel where she draws anime and manga shit. Love that girl, honestly. David, Angeline, and Ms. Wu are also all real people._ **

**_Neighbours is a soap opera my mom and I like to watch._ **

**_Mrs. Rochford is not a real person, but I based her off a teacher I dislike. Mrs. Huang is not real either. The actual head of LOTE at my school is not her._ **

**_Obviously, I swapped out the name of my school/town for a fictional name._ **


	58. Afterword

Sheesh, what do you even put in these things? I'm going to try and make this as short as I can.

First of all (and probably last of all): Untied knots.

Now that the Australia arc has been deleted, what was Cho's reward? Answer: Whatever you want it to be. Naoko would have told Oikawa and Iwaizumi "off screen" in canon.

Next untied knot: Leiko's past. I was going to do an arc on this and have a Leiko attempt suicide, but decided against doing it. However, I still have the part where Oikawa muses about her mysteriousness and resolves to do some searching about her online.

Again, we can assume that this happened off screen. He would have come across a court case about the Park family, with Yoko taking custody of Leiko from their abusive father.

Like many ideas, this was scrapped. So, uh, yeah, do whatever you want with this knowledge, I don't care.

And Shinji? He was the quiet background character who never really got a chance to shine. I'm afraid I can't point the spotlight at everyone, especially when the character is a shadow type of person.

Lastly... did I ever mention how wonderful you readers are? It's been quite the ride, and I hope you enjoyed it, even when I lost my shit and deleted an entire arc.

I'm hoping to make another OC fic, this time about Nekoma. I'm in the planning stage, and I may or may not ever post it.

See you around, dear readers.

~ misCOWculation


End file.
